CONTACT WEST VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS TODAY! The West Virginia legislature is attempting to sneak through SB470, a reactionary and adopteephobic “OBC/adoptee rights bill” that would (1) By default, redact all Original Birth Certificates of identifying information unless a biological parent specifically authorizes the release of the document via submission of consent forms to the Department of Health and (2) Require adoptees to have a high school diploma, GED or have withdrawn “officially” from school to receive the document in any form–redacted or unredacted.
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West Virginia SB470: You’re Redacted!
But a couple of days ago, the unthinkable happened. SB470, the latest OBC travesty, started to move, and yesterday (March 1, 2023) the West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee rendered this already silly bill useless, abhorrent, and adopteephobic with an amendment that makes the OBCs of all West Virginia-born adoptees redacted by default.
Continue readingAdoptee Rights Marches Through Georgia: SB64 passes out of the Senate Children & Families Committee
On February 28, 2023, Georgia made a substantial step in the battle to restore OBC access in the state. The Senate Children and Families Committee voted unanimously Do PASS on SB64, a clean unrestrictive-unconditional bill. Next Stop: Senate Rules for consideration to be scheduled for a vote before the full Senate The bill must pass and crossover to the House no later than March 6, 2023.
Continue readingSouth Dakota HB1231: Passes both houses in record time!
HB1231 zipped through the legislature. Introduced only on February 2, 2023, it passed the House on February 16 (65-4) and the Senate on February 28 (35-0). That’s 26 days and a record. Unlike previous attempts, there was no organized opposition.
Continue readingTexas Is In ! Drops It’s Bill
HB2006. sponsored by Rep Cody Harris, is nearly identical to 2021’s HB1386 That bill passed the House with flying colors. Despite overwhelming support in the Senate, it did not receive a hearing because…well, because it’s Texas.
Continue readingBastard Nation 2023 Legislative Page is Finally Up
This year is a legislative nightmare. As of tonight we have fourteen OBC and OBC-related bills to follow; seven traditional Safe Haven bills; and twelve Safe Haven Baby Box bills.
Continue readingBastard Nation Stands in Solidarity: Transgender Day of Remembrance
No one knows the exact number, but thousands of queer and trans young people are lost, figuratively and literally, in the broken corrupt foster and adoption systems and what follows. They are subject to harassment, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, social isolation, incarceration, depression, suicide ideation, stigma, bullying, exploitation, violence, and rejection by bio families as well as foster and adoptive ones. They and their families, who do stand with them, are increasingly subjected to family policing through Draconian rules, regulations, and laws pushed by “conservatives,” Christian Nationalists, and traditional family values politicians and special interest groups. (Oten the same groups that oppose adoptee rights in general.) They are ignored by the very “child protective system” and so-called care communities–public, private, and increasingly corporatized– that are supposed to protect and nurture them.
Continue readingURGENT! Contact your Senator Today! Pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act Now!
US international adoptees once more need our help in passing The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021. It MUST pass this year. The Bill passed the House in February and has been sitting in the Senate since then. With the midterm election and the impending retirement of sponsor Sen. Roy Blount (R-MO), it is imperative to act now.
Continue readingHappy Day in Massachusetts: Black Hole is Gone! OBCs Unsealed for All!
Today, HB 2284/S1146 the bill that restores the right of all Massachusetts-born adoptees to obtain their Original Birth Certificates without the restriction goes into effect. Until today Massachusetts adoptees born between July 17, 1974 and January 1, 2008 and their OBCs were tossed in a black hole by a series of archaic laws that kept their records sealed except by court order. Those born before and after those dates enjoyed full and unrestricted access to them. No reasonable explanation was ever given for this nonsense…
Continue readingMassachusetts: Delivered, Signed, and Unsealed!
Governor Charlie Baker has signed H2294/S1140 making Massachusetts the 13th state (and third this year) to acknowledge and codify the right of all of its state-born adopted people at age 18 to obtain without conditions or restrictions their original birth certificates upon request. Current law bars those born between July 17, 1974, and January 1, 2008, to obtain the document without a court order. The new law goes into effect November 3, 2022
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