Wednesday, May 23, 2007

NORTH CAROLINA: ADOPTEES DON'T NEED NO BAGMAN! BASTARD NATION'S REPLY TO NCCAR'S CAPITULATION

Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization abhors the decision of the North Carolina Coalition for Adoption Reform to drop its HB 445 equal access records bill and replace it with an amended bill (HB 445 2nd ed) that authorizes adoption agencies, for a hefty fee, to voluntarily act as Confidential Intermediaries. The CI system might have been "progressive" 45 years ago. But this is 2007. Outside of the adoption industry's extravagant fondness for perpetual control over the lives of its "clients" and love of the fast buck, there is no rationale for privatized child welfare businesses to act as state-mandated go-betweens for adult adoptees and their first families who are perfectly capable of responsible decision-making and relationship-building without their supervision.

HB 445 restored the right of adopted adults to access their own original birth certificates without interference from anyone. HB 445 2nd ed denies that right, by allowing the adoption industry to control and mediate the free flow of information between adults. To add insult to injury, there is still no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Original birth certificates remain sealed and unaccesible. If the National Council for Adoption didn't think up HB 445 2nd ed, it should have.

Bastard Nation endorsed HB 445 cautiously with the caveat that if the rights of adoptees were compromised away, we would withdraw our support and work to defeat any compromise proposed in its place. We do not support the amended version of HB 445 and request that all references to our support of HB 445 be removed. HB 445 2nd ed is not about rights. It's not even about reunions. It's about state power over the lives of adopted adults and their families.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is this bill still being reviewed or did it pass?
Thanks

Anonymous said...

Mr John Rustin NC Family Policy Council states it will violate birth parents privacy.What about adoptee rights?This person is concerned it will weaken adoption,and that it needs to be preserved.We need to outlaw adoption!!How about legal guardianship until a pARENT CAN GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER.How many people use this as a way out of accepting responsibility.Lets get laws out there to help single parents raise their child.Adoption defies the laws of nature and man.No one should come between a mother and child.

Unknown said...

I was so excited when I heard NC was finally going to open records for us poor "bastards". I should have known it was too good to be true. I have been dealing with DSS of Charlotte, who were helpful and bewildered by the law at first (before it was amended); but I must say they were willing to help me find my birth parents (or at least dear old mom). Anyway, long story short, I talked with them last week and they found her; she won't reply to them; so I'm getting a "we've closed your case" letter. I've figured that my birth mother would be around 72 years old at this point. My question now is, after she dies, does my information fall under the "Freedom of Information Act" or is it still "Privacy Act". I think I deserve to know where I come from and the state of NC has no right to keep that information from me.