Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization
PO Box 4607
New Windsor, New York 12553-7845
614-795-6819
bastards.org bastards3@gmail.com @bastardnation@bsky.social
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Bastard Nation Action Alert
February 1, 2025
Plese Distribute Freely
There are quite a few bills next week that will receive floor votes or committee hearings, so there will be a couple of separate Actions Alerts tonight. Here is the first.
North Dakota
SB2284
Drop North Dakota’s current law in the woodchipper!
Current North Dakota law severely limits adopted people from obtaining their OBCs and other adoption information. It is, overall, the most difficult law in the country. There is no specific law that provides North Dakota-born adoptees from receiving their OBCs. Court orders pertaining to state and private adoptions are available, but only through a complex, confusing, and exacting procedure involving adoption agencies and birthparents who must give consent for release of identity. A court order can be granted “only if the petitioner demonstrates that disclosure will not result in any substantial harm to the individual about whom identifying information is sought.” How that absurd requirement is proven is not explained.
Yes, you read that right.
SB2284 sweeps away all this nonsense:
Restores the right of adopted people 18 and over, without restrictions or conditions. It also releases a certified copy of the adoption decree, and any parental identification included on it. Also allows adopted people to receive a copy of an amended BC if an adoption has been vacated or annulled.
SB 2284 has a scheduled hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 4, 2025, Tuesday). Bastard Nation submitted testimony earlier today, but it hasn’t posted yet on the North Dakota Legislature Page. We also sent email copies to all committee members, the sponsors, and the President Pro Tem.
We believe the bill will have two opponents (and maybe more): the Catholic Conference of North Dakota and North Dakota Lutheran Social Services. In 2017 they opposed a similar bill. We haven’t seen any comments from them this session, but here is the crazy testimony the CC gave that session–tearing apart the Adoption and Abortion Whitepaper that the American Adoption Congress published. Hopefully both agencies are too busy fighting Trump on immigration and other social justice issues which they actually excel in and will leave us alone.
Please submit your testimony and/ or contact committee members and sponsors to push this through. If you have a North Dakota connection, be sure to include it.
SB2284 Legislative Page and Bill
Bastard Nation Letter in Support
Testimony and Letters
Testimony is really easy to submit. Go to the SB2284 Legislative page (see above, click on the Hearings tab and then the Testimony link at the far right of the bill information. Fill out the short form and submit your document. It takes text and pdf. You will receive a conformation email. If you also sign on to testify remote, you will later get an email with link information.
Contact list:
I have checked all of the addys and none bounce.
Senate Judiciary Committee
dlarson@ndlegis.gov, bpaulson@ndlegis.gov, rbraunberger@ndlegis.gov, clairecory@ndlegis.gov, lluick@ndlegis.gov, myrdal@ndlegis.gov, jcastaneda@ndlegis.gov, bbekkedahl@ndlegis.gov
Sen Bekkedahl is the President Pro Tem. The President of the Senate has no email listed.
Sponsors
khogan@ndlegis.gov, gdobervich@ndlegis.gov, cmcleod@ndlegis, gov solson@ndlegis.gov, dvanoosting@ndlegis.gov, markweber@ndlegis.gov
Thank you!
New York Adoptee Rights Coalition
