Minnesota’s long history of sealed records and complicated, confusing, convoluted “rules,” including an incomprehensible intermediary system that made it nearly impossible for adoptees to obtain their Original Birth Certificates, ended Wednesday when Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz signed SF2995 an omnibus health bill that contained OBC access provisions. Those provisions came from the earlier stand-alone SF279 stuck in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee for carryover to the next session. The Minnesota Coalition for Adoption Reform (MCAR) and the Adoptee Rights Law Center directed by Minneapolis attorney Gregory Luce, negotiated with legislative leaders to get the provisions added and onto the floor of both Houses which passed the bill on May 22, 2023, the last day of the session. (Senate: 34-32; House 69-64)
Continue readingOur Mission
Bastard Nation advocates for the civil and human rights of adult citizens who were adopted as children. Read our full Mission Statement and join us in our efforts to end a hidden legacy of shame, fear and venality.
Legislation
Get Involved
How We Work
Bastard Nation will not assist any political organization to pass open records legislation unless their governing board or other leadership passes a written resolution that commits the board to a strategy of no compromise on key provisions and informs its constituents and the sponsoring legislators of this commitment and strategy.
State Partner Organizations
CalOpen • Canada Open • Indiana Open Access • Missouri Open • Michigan Open Access • Equal Access Oklahoma
Proud NYARC Partner
Proud TXARC Partner
Reading Room
Visit our refurbished and expanded Bastard Nation Reading Room and become a Well-Read Bastard. Start with The Bastard Chronicles: 20 Years of Adoptee Equality Activism in the U.S.and the Birth of a Bastard Nation, compiled and edited by Marla Paul. The Bastard Chronicles is a primer for adoptee equality. Print edition available in the Bastard Boutique and on Amazon. (also available on Kindle).
State Pages
- States: Alabama
- States: Alaska
- States: Arizona
- States: Arkansas
- States: California
- States: Colorado
- States: Connecticut
- States: DC
- States: Delaware
- States: Florida
- States: Georgia
- States: Guam
- States: Hawaii’
- States: Idaho
- States: Illinois
- States: Indiana
- States: Iowa
- States: Kansas
- States: Kentucky
- States: Louisiana
- States: Maine
- States: Maryland
- States: Mass
- States: Michigan
- States: Minnesota
- States: Mississippi
- States: Missouri
- States: Missouri
- States: Montana
- States: Nebraska
- States: Nevada
- States: New Hampshire
- States: New Jersey
- States: New Mexico
- States: New York
- States: North Carolina
- States: North Dakota
- States: Northern Mariana Islands
- States: Ohio
- States: Oklahoma
- States: Oregon
- States: Pennsylvania
- States: Puerto Rico
- States: Rhode Island
- States: South Carolina
- States: South Dakota
- States: Tennessee
- States: Texas
- States: US Virgin Islands
- States: Utah
- States: Vermont
- States: Virginia
- States: Washington
- States: West Virginia
- States: Wisconsin
- States: Wyoming