NYARC has received the following update on the status of orders to the New York State Department of Health. This does NOT include orders made to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. We have repeatedly requested an update from New York City but to date have not received further information.
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New York State FAQ on OBC access
The Adoptee Rights Law Center has released an updated FAQ on S3419, the New York law scheduled to go into effect on January 15, 2020. that restores the right of all New York Adoptees to access their Original Birth Certificates.
Continue readingBastard Nation Statement: Cuomo Signs Historic Adoptee Rights Bill. Leaves No One Behind!
Bastard Nation, the Adoptee Rights Organization is delighted that New York governor Andrew Cuomo today signed S3419. This historic bill restores the right, of Original Birth Certificate (OBC) access to all the state’s adoptees without restriction or condition– a right once held by all New York adoptees. It passed both Houses in June, and although we were confident that Gov. Cuomo would sign the bill, it was a long, nail-biting wait.
Continue readingt’s been almost four months since passage of S3419, New York’s historic equal rights legislation. Yet one critical step remains: making sure Governor Andrew Cuomo signs S3419 into law. While the bill is not yet on his desk, we have continued to let him know how important this bill is for all of us. That’s where you also come in, likely again.
Even if you have done so already, contact Governor Cuomo once more to request that he sign S3419 into law. The bill will end more than eight decades of secrecy surrounding adoptees’ original birth certificates. It’s important for all of us to contact him. It’s important now whether you have contacted him before or whether have never contacted him at all. Your voice has made a difference in the past and it continues to make a difference today.
Continue readingWe have always committed to calling it straight. This update just went out by email to our nearly 2,000 supporters, assuring that things are good, despite the naysayers who cannot seem to get over our success
Continue readingNew York History Made! S3419/A5494 passes Senate 53-6! On to the Assembly!
Bastard Nation, the Adoptee Rights Organization is delighted that the New York Senate has passed. The bill restores the right of Original Birth Certificate (OBC) access to all the state’s adoptees without restriction or condition– a right once held by New York adoptees.
Continue readingGood News from New York
Monday (April 30) the New York House Health Committee voted A5497/S3419, the Weprin/Montgomery bill, out of committee with a Do Pass recommendation 24-2 with two absences. The bill has over 100 sponsors with more signing on weekly. This is a huge first step in the decades-long campaign to restore OBC rights in New York. The bill now goes to Codes.
Continue readingBastard Nation Press Release, April 30, 2019: Bastard Nation supports the restoration of adoptee civil rights in New York with A5494/S3419
For over 80 years New York’s adoptees have endured a humiliating, frustrating, costly, and rarely successful process when they request their Original Birth Certificates (OBC). The state’s access system, established when Franklin D Roosevelt was president, is clearly antiquated, illogical, and discriminatory, and keeps nearly all adoptees unable to acquire their own OBC. The law sends a message that adoption and adoptees are shameful secrets.A5494/S3419 recognizes the absurdity of this practice and archaic social ideology It restores the right of OBC access without restriction that all New York adoptees once enjoyed, The bill is simple, inclusive, transparent. It follows the process that nine states have successfully implemented.
Continue readingOpen Letter from New York Adoptee Rights Coalition to New York State Adoption Equality
In our recent meeting with you and others in Albany, Assembly Member Weprin requested that all advocacy groups—including the American Adoption Congress, NYSAE, and Unsealed Initiative—unite with us to pursue enactment of the Weprin/Montgomery bill. In an unprecedented response, the AAC and Unsealed Initiative agreed and committed to the bill, as did the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition and its partners. You and NYSAE, however, continued to insist on pursuing a competing bill that has little support in the legislature and will cause confusion among legislators and advocates as the Weprin/Montgomery bill moves ahead.
Continue readingNew York: Our Clean Bill A5494/S3419 is Officially Live! Join Us!
Latest news and statement from the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition. Bastard Nation is a proud member of NYARC, and we will have our own statement later.
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