July 21, 2013
Please say it ain't so!
Is this satire? Is someone running another fake internet story? Please tell me Will Smith did not say this: "Interracial adoption is just so hot right now," Will explained, "It's done wonders for Angelina's career, and following the whole After Earth thing, I'm hoping for a similar boost."
Will and Jada Smith Adopt
Will and Jada Smith Adopt
July 19, 2013
Prof Elizabeth Samuels research study on Surrender Documents
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2233400
University of Baltimore - School of Law
2013
20 Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 33 (2013)
Abstract:
For more than 30 years adoption law reform advocates have been seeking to restore for adult adoptees the right to access their original birth certificates, a right that was lost in all but two states between the late 1930s and 1990. The advocates have faced strong opposition and have succeeded only in recent years and only in eight states. Among the most vigorous advocates for access are “birth mothers” who surrendered their children during a time it was believed that adoption would relieve unmarried women of shame and restore them to a respectable life.
The birth mother advocates say that when they surrendered their children, their wishes were subordinated and their voices silenced. They say they want to be heard now as they raise their voices in support of adult adoptees’ rights to information in government records about their original identities. Opponents of restoring access, in “women-protective rhetoric” reminiscent of recent anti-abortion efforts, argue that access would harm birth mothers, violating their rights and bringing shame anew through unwanted exposure of out-of-wedlock births. Opponents say they must speak for birth mothers who cannot come forward to speak for themselves. Birth mother advocates respond that the impetus historically for closing records was to protect adoptive families from public scrutiny and from interference by birth parents, rather than to protect birth mothers from being identified in the future by their children. They maintain that birth mothers did not choose and were not legally guaranteed lifelong anonymity. They point out that when laws that have restored access have been challenged, courts have found neither statutory guarantees of nor constitutional rights to anonymity. They also offer evidence that an overwhelming majority of birth mothers are open to contact with their now grown children.
As a means of assessing these competing claims, this article analyzes the provisions in a collection of birth mother surrender documents assembled by the author — seventy-five mid-twentieth century documents executed in twenty-six different states. In order to establish the significance of the provisions with respect to these claims, the article first relates depictions by birth mothers of a journey from silence to legislative advocacy. The article then examines the conflicting claims about birth mothers that pervade legislative contests over adult adoptee access to original birth certificates. Finally, the article analyzes the provisions of the surrender documents. The analysis of the provisions definitively supports birth mother advocates’ reports that women were neither offered a choice of nor guaranteed lifelong anonymity. Their opponents’ contentions to the contrary, whether motivated by concern for birth mothers or other interests, reinscribe an earlier culture of shame and secrecy, subordinating women’s own wishes and silencing their newly raised voices.
Surrender and Subordination: Birth Mothers and Adoption Law Reform
Elizabeth J. Samuels
University of Baltimore - School of Law
2013
20 Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 33 (2013)
Abstract:
For more than 30 years adoption law reform advocates have been seeking to restore for adult adoptees the right to access their original birth certificates, a right that was lost in all but two states between the late 1930s and 1990. The advocates have faced strong opposition and have succeeded only in recent years and only in eight states. Among the most vigorous advocates for access are “birth mothers” who surrendered their children during a time it was believed that adoption would relieve unmarried women of shame and restore them to a respectable life.
The birth mother advocates say that when they surrendered their children, their wishes were subordinated and their voices silenced. They say they want to be heard now as they raise their voices in support of adult adoptees’ rights to information in government records about their original identities. Opponents of restoring access, in “women-protective rhetoric” reminiscent of recent anti-abortion efforts, argue that access would harm birth mothers, violating their rights and bringing shame anew through unwanted exposure of out-of-wedlock births. Opponents say they must speak for birth mothers who cannot come forward to speak for themselves. Birth mother advocates respond that the impetus historically for closing records was to protect adoptive families from public scrutiny and from interference by birth parents, rather than to protect birth mothers from being identified in the future by their children. They maintain that birth mothers did not choose and were not legally guaranteed lifelong anonymity. They point out that when laws that have restored access have been challenged, courts have found neither statutory guarantees of nor constitutional rights to anonymity. They also offer evidence that an overwhelming majority of birth mothers are open to contact with their now grown children.
As a means of assessing these competing claims, this article analyzes the provisions in a collection of birth mother surrender documents assembled by the author — seventy-five mid-twentieth century documents executed in twenty-six different states. In order to establish the significance of the provisions with respect to these claims, the article first relates depictions by birth mothers of a journey from silence to legislative advocacy. The article then examines the conflicting claims about birth mothers that pervade legislative contests over adult adoptee access to original birth certificates. Finally, the article analyzes the provisions of the surrender documents. The analysis of the provisions definitively supports birth mother advocates’ reports that women were neither offered a choice of nor guaranteed lifelong anonymity. Their opponents’ contentions to the contrary, whether motivated by concern for birth mothers or other interests, reinscribe an earlier culture of shame and secrecy, subordinating women’s own wishes and silencing their newly raised voices.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 64
Accepted Paper Series
July 6, 2013
Sandy Musser's ALARM - Advocating Legislation for the Adoption Reform Movement WHITE HOUSE CAMPAIGN!
Re: White House Campaign
We are planning a letter campaign
enmasse directly to the White House from July 28th (when the 14th
Amendment was ratified) and August 4th – Obama’s birthday. Each
mailing should include a hard copy of the Adoptee Restoration Act
which is attached. Your BRIEF
personal note should be handwritten on the back of the flyer. See below for
more info. Let your friends and family know, so they can
join in. E-mail me at muss102@aol.com
if you need a copy of the ARA or if you have one, feel free to copy it for
others.
THE ADOPTEES’ RESTORATION ACT IS ALARM'S PRIMARY INITIATIVE AND FOCUS. Legislation is currently
being pursued in individual states by other groups and organizations; ALARM
will continue to support those efforts. But ALARM has chosen to
pursue a national effort. This is a lofty
goal and many think it's crazy, but we won’t know until we try! At
first, I thought we might pursue the Congressional legislators, but we all know how slow they are to act on anything or to get anything done;
therefore we felt this would be a quicker route to pursue. This in no way
conflicts with the individual State efforts. If anything, it
may cause the States to pick up speed as we continue to get the word
out.
Whenever you are discussing the basis for adoptees having
their OBC's, always quote the 14th Amendment. It’s very very clear.- study it –
memorize it if you can. This amendment
has been responsible for all the civil rights laws passed in the past 125 years.
Don't
get bogged down with any other issues.
OBC’s
is a civil rights issue and a national issue. It
will not cost the government or the States any money to implement an Executive Order
because the Vital Stat Offices are already distributing birth
certificates. In other words, they will
continue to do what they’ve always done – provide original birth certificates
to their citizens. It will be an UNFUNDED Mandate.
The ARA is also available as a 13x19 poster with the same verbiage.
If you would like one, e-mail your mailing address to muss102@aol.com As we post
these all over the country, we will be educating many people who are still in
the dark about adoption issues. . It is
one of the most concise pieces of material for bringing awareness to those who
are still in the dark about adoption. Many still believe that adoptees have
access to their information once they become adults. They are usually
shocked to learn that they do not!
OUR PRIMARY
GOAL IS TO REACH THE EAR OF THE PRESIDENT IN HOPES THAT HE WILL BE WILLING
TO ISSUE AN EXECUTIVE
ORDER for the ADOPTEES RESTORATION ACT BEFORE HE
LEAVES OFFICE. The best part of an Executive Order is that CONGRESS CANNOT OVERRIDE IT! When the President decides to issue it, there
would be no haggling. All States would have to comply! It would be the most
wonderful gift the President could give to the adopted population and their
families. It took an Executive Order by President Eisenhower back in 1957 to desegregate
the schools.
There have been hundreds of
Executive Orders made by every President of the U.S, but, according to
research, President Obama has had the least amount of all. Adoption
records have been sealed for over 75 years!
Before
he leaves office, let’s do everything we can to encourage him to make the most
important Executive Order ever - to provide every adoptee in America
I truly believe that if President Obama is presented
with our issue that he would endorse the Adoptees’ Restoration Act via an
Executive Order! Having had his own
birth certificate problem, I believe he would
“get it” if we can just get to him!!!
THE
PLAN:
1) Everyone taking part
in the campaign will send the ARA flyer in a #10 COLOR (any color) envelope.
2) In the lower left
hand corner, handwrite Happy Birthday, Mr. President or President Obama.
3) On the back of the
flyer, give the specifics of your birth / adoption – i.e d/o/b, p/o/b – that you believe it is your
civil right to have a copy of your obc and be sure to sign your name and
current address.
4) You may want to
mention that you are pleased that he has a copy of his certificate and you hope
that he will agree to an E.O. in order for you to be able to obtain yours! Remind
him that time is always of the essence. You don’t want to find a grave at the
end of your search. Or what if what of
his girls had been placed for adoption – does he realize he would never be able
to know her under our current laws!
5) The important thing is to try to keep it
brief! Try not to ramble. The flyer
will speak for itself and the personal
notes on the back of the flyer coming from all over the country will provide
the needed impact.
In the meantime, let’s continue to blanket the country with
this simple one-page flyer and/or 13x19 poster that tells our story succinctly.
At some point the 100th Monkey Concept/Theory (see Wikipedia) will kick in and
we'll be home free!!
After you've had a chance to digest this
information, let me know if you’re interested in a leadership position with the
ALARM organization. No pay – just great satisfaction. We are on the ground
floor. Your comments, suggestions, ideas, etc. are welcomed and
encouraged. We're all in this together! Feel free to contact me if
you have any questions. Thanks so much
for your interest and participation. WE
WILL OVERCOME!
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