Breaking News from Missouri! Senate Committee Substitute for HB 1599 ALERT! The shaft continues

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

The other day Heather Dodd from Missouri Adoptee Rights Movement (MARM) ( told the Senate Seniors, Families and Children Committee that MARM’ s HCS HB 1599 OBC “access bill” was a “beautiful thing” even as it moved to the southern-most part of Hell and was deformed by the Missouri House from the original clean unrestricted access bill into a hot gutted mess of compromised limited access. Elsewhere Dodd and her cronies hinted that MARM’s “collaborative  effort” (with who?) and sooper secret behind-the scenes finagling would  make  things right.  Apparently, through some sleight of hand  MARM would make all the bad amendments and their Catholic Charities sponsors go away, freeing Missouri adoptees from  one of the worse OBC access laws in the country. When asked by Facebook “friends” how they intended to do this MARM attacked national and state organizations such as Bastard Nation and Pennsylvania Adoptee Rights (which has no BN affiliation) for holding out for “perfection. ” “Adoptees are dyin’!”  they proclaimed

But, when you stand for nothing, you get nothing. Yesterday, the Senate Seniors, Children and Families Committee gutted the gutted bill even more with new restrictions.  How is MARM  going to spin this “beautiful thing”– a bill that would keep some adoptees records sealed FOREVER!  (But aren’t adoptees dyin’?)  Even the the National Council for Adoption in its Piercian anti-adoptee heyday wasn’t that extreme.

We don’t have all the details yet, but this is what we do know from Bastard Nation partner Missouri Open.  As of this writing MARM has made no statement or posted updates to its public FB page.  Instead we find notices on search and support meetings. The Missouri Senate has until the end of May to move on it.

Missouri Open Statement

On April 5th, HCS HB 1599 was heard in the Senate Seniors, Children and Families Committee. In opposition were: Catholic Charities/Good Shepherd Children & Family Services; Missouri Catholic Conference; and Lutheran Family & Children’s Services.

The Senate Committee did NOT like the House Committee Substitute for HB 1599, so they created a SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE and on April 13 passed it unanimously.

Yes – it can and did get worse.

Two points in the amendments include: 1) The original effective date of May 1, 2017 is to extend out until January 1, 2018. The purpose of extension… to allow a full budget year to adoption agencies who intend to provide notification of the new law to every birthparent; 2) the Disclosure Veto (called a CPF in this dirty bill) filed by any birthparent will remain in effect to and BEYOND DEATH of the birthparent, unless withdrawn.

Missouri Open opposes the Senate Committee Substitute to HB 1599. The bill will now move to the Senate Floor for Perfection Calendar.

Missouri: The Won’t Show Me State!!

Missouri Open thanks our BN partner California Open for assistance in this matter.