MISSOURI: TEEN SEX LIVES MAY BE INVESTIGATED BY PROSECUTORS--FOR THEIR OWN GOOD

Missouri lawmakers preach that adoptees getting their own birth certificates is a gross invasion of privacy, but say that mandated criminal investigations into the sex lives of the state's teenage girls isn't.

Tuesday the Missouri House passed HB 1327, which if it becomes law, would require abortion clinics to inform prosecutors when women under the age of 18 inquire, about getting an abortion. They don't have to get one; just ask about it. Of course this is for their own good. And ours.

From KMOV-TV, St. Louis:

Supporters say the intent is to help identify men who may have impregnated teens through rape.

Other parts of the bill would create a new crime of coercing a woman to obtain an abortion and expand the information that must be provided to a woman 24 hours before an abortion.

The Associated Press reports further:

Missouri's proposed mandate to inform prosecutors about minors seeking abortions could be a first nationally if it became law, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks reproductive-rights issues.

Missouri law already requires the consent of the minor and a parent, guardian or judge before a physician performs an abortion on someone younger than 18. It also requires abortion providers to report evidence of rape or abuse to the state.

The legislation would go further by requiring a physician or abortion clinic to notify prosecutors when someone younger than 18 inquires about getting an abortion -- even if she does not go through with it. Notification would have to occur at least a day before an abortion. The only exception to prosecutorial notification would be for court-approved cases.

Why not cut out the middle man? Require all pregnant teens to register with their local Thought Prosecution Team.

For some "unknown" reason there is no section in the bill that requires minors seeking solutions for unplanned pregnancies other than abortion to be similarly protected. CPCs are not required to snitch out young women inquiring about pregnancy tests or "crisis pregnancy counseling. " Adoption agencies are not required to turn in teenagers inquiring about "the loving adoption option," "Safe haven" drop-off stations are not required to call in prosecutors when a teenager drops by inquiring about how to dump a baby.

Why don't they deserve equal protection?

We all know the answer to that.

The AP also reports:

The Missouri bill also would create a specific crime of coercing a woman to obtain an abortion through such acts as assault, stalking, threatening her employment or withholding an academic scholarships.

Why doesn't the bill outlaw coerced adoption surrenders?

We know the answer to that, too.

Who do they think they're kidding?

AT&T FAIL!

Thanks to the AT&T epic email migration FAIL, I may be gone for a day or, too. Talk about corporate screw ups. At least if they were drinking they'd have an excuse.

BASTARD NATION ACTION ALERT: ILLINOIS HB 5428

IMPORTANT CORRECTION
RE: CONTACT INFO IL HB 5428

Evidently, Illinois does not have any legislative email system. Our colleagues report that every single one of the emails published in our first Action Alert came back as undeliverable. Therefore, the ways to reach an elected official is by phone, FAX, or snail mail. (The latter might work because we are told that the Senate is not reconvening until April 13th.)

We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

In an effort to try and spread the word about this bill, you might want to send your letter to some newspapers at the same time. Still one letter – but the string of email addresses is for newspapers around the state. The newspaper info appears under the Senators’ revised contact information.

Senate Sponsors:

Senator A. J. Wilhelmi (D)
43rd District
Springfield Office:
Senator 43rd District
311A Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8800 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-8800 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
2200 Weber Road
Crest Hill, IL 60403
(815) 207-4445 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (815) 207-4445 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(815) 207-4446 FAX

Senator Ira I. Silverstein (D)

8th District
Majority Caucus Whip
Springfield Office:
Senator 8th District
121B Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5500 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-5500 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(217) 782-5340 FAX
District Office:
2951 West Devon
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 743-5015 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (773) 743-5015 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(773) 743-4750 FAX

Senator Iris Y. Martinez (D)

20th District
Springfield Office:
Senator 20th District
413A Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8191 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-8191 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
2845 N. Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 463-0720 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (773) 463-0720 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(773) 463-0795 FAX

Members of the Assignments Committee:

Senator James F. Clayborne, Jr. (D)
57th District
Senate Majority Leader
Springfield Office:
Senator 57th District
329 Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5399 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-5399 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
Kenneth Hall Regional Office Bldg.
10 Collinsville Ave.
East St. Louis, IL 62201
(618) 875-1212 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (618) 875-1212 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(618) 274-3010 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (618) 274-3010 end_of_the_skype_highlighting FAX

Senator Don Harmon (D)
39th District
Assistant Majority Leader
Springfield Office:
Senator 39th District
329 Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8176 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-8176 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
6933 W. North Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 848-2002 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (708) 848-2002 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(708) 848-2022 FAX

Senator Louis S. Viverito (D)
11th District
Majority Caucus Whip
Springfield Office:
Senator 11th District
121A Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-0054 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-0054 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
6215 W. 79th Street
Suite 1A
Burbank, IL 60459
(708) 430-2510 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (708) 430-2510 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(708) 430-2610 FAX

Senator Dale A. Righter (R)
55th District
Deputy Minority Leader
Springfield Office:
Senator 55th District
309D Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-6674 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-6674 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
88 Broadway Avenue
Suite 1
Mattoon, IL 61938
(217) 235-6033 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 235-6033 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(217) 235-6052 FAX

Senator Kirk W. Dillard (R)
24th District
Springfield Office:
Senator 24th District
103C Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8148 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (217) 782-8148 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
District Office:
One South Cass Avenue
Suite 201
Westmont, IL 60559
(630) 969-0990 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (630) 969-0990 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
(630) 969-1007 FAX

CONTACT INFORMATION – NEWSPAPERS

letters@suntimes.com; tips@tribune.com; telegraph@thetelegraph.com; newsroom@bnd.com; carmitimes@yourclearwave.com; editor@advocatepress.com; strosley@journalstandard.com; tmartin@register-mail.com; gwilson@yourclearwave.com; dee@starcourier.com; ldeditor@lincolndailynews.com; editor@mcdonoughvoice.com; editor@dailyrepublicannews.com; press@qconline.com; mhutton@reviewatlas.com; news@mtcarmelregister.com; newsroom@mywebtimes.com; news@pjstar.com; ntnews@newstrib.com; jgreen@whig.com; gbilbrey@robdailynews.com; lgcunningham@rrstar.com; sjr@sj-r.com; newsroom@mywebtimes.com; editor@dailyamericannews.com; rbauer@leaderunion.com; breezenews@ctitech.com; pr@thewoodstockindependent.com; editor@dailyamericannews.com; news@svnmail.com;

Below is the original action alert, minus the bad contact information.

BASTARD NATION: THE ADOPTEE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION

WWW.BASTARDS.ORG

ACTION ALERT

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED IN ILLINOIS – DO NOT PASS HB 5428

ILLINOIS HB 5428 - DO NOT PASS

We have an urgent situation in Illinois and we need your help. An egregious conditional access bill, HB 5428, sponsored by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chgo), was silently swept through the House of Representatives and is now sitting in the Assignments Committee of the Senate, waiting to be referred to a standing Senate Committee. The chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate is Senator A. J. Wilhelmi (Dem -Joliet). Chief Co-Sponsors are Senator Ira Silverstein (Dem-Chgo) and Senator Iris Y.Mendez (Dem-Chgo)

Please urge the senators to stop HB 5428 in its tracks. Ask them to hold it in committee until an amendment can be worked out that will treat all adoptees equally. 100% of Illinois adoptees must be able to request and receive their original birth certificates, without any restrictions, such as prior parental approval. If that cannot happen, then HB 5428 must be pulled or left to die in the Assignments Committee.

HB 5428 does not treat adopted adults equally.

1) Adoptees whose birth parents file an affidavit of denial of information will either not get their original birth certificate or they will get one with all identifying information redacted.

2) Adoptees born before Jan. 1, 1946 will get their original birth certificate with no strings attached. However, adoptees born after this date must adhere to the criteria set up in the bill which allows a birth parent to file an affidavit of denial that could result in no issuance of a birth certificate or a birth certificate with all identifying information redacted.

3) Sealing the birth records was the state's way of making sure that no one interferes with the unity of the new, legal family created by adoption. If sealing records were meant to protect birth mothers, then the sealing would take place at the time of relinquishment - not at the time of adoption.

Text of bill:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09600HB5428lv&SessionID=76&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=5428&print=true

Please go to www.IlOpen.org to read more about this bill and see a sample letter.

CONTACT INFORMATION

All you have to do is write just one letter (sample letter at www.ilopen.org). Put one senator’s name on the “to” line. Be sure to say if you reside in Illinois .

WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING--NO EMAILS FOR ILLILNOIS LEGGIES

Did you know that the Illinois Legislative page does not list email addys? Addys are not posted on the "contact" page and my personal sampling of leggies personal pages shows only one pol (Sara Feigenholtz, no less) who has an email contact listed. The few addys we do have don't work.

What could this possibly mean?

I've held up posting the BN action alert due to this...er...problem. We've got phone numbers, faxes and mail addresses.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: SNEAKY SARA FEIGENHOLTZ, PART 1: THE HB 5428 STATE SECRET

Due to the length this entry was becoming, the time involved in researching and writing it, and the need to get information out immediately on the abomination known as Illinois HB 5428, I am publishing this blog in parts. Depending on the finished product it will be in either two or three parts.

Here, in Part 1, is an overview of the bill and its murky passage through the Illinois House. I also comment on machinations that appear to have gotten it passed under everybody's radar when similiar bills for more than a decade have been met with loud howls from us.

Illinois Open and Bastard Nation will release an Action Alert shortly. This entry and the part(s) to follow should be read in conjunction with the action alert.

NOTE: In 2008 I wrote extensively on HB 5428's predecessor look-alike, HB 4623. Two of my blogs llinois Warning! Trainwreck ahead for records rights and Illinois: That train keeps a rollin' - more piece-a-crap legislation context the current mess. I will also reference others as we move along.

******

And I feel like I've been here before/Feel like I've been here before/And you know it does make me wonder/What's going on under the ground

David Crosby, It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Sneaky Sara is at it again!

On March 18, the Illinois House passed HB 5428 the latest incarnation of Rep. Sara Feigenholtz's Illinois Adoption CI/Registry Cash Cow Protection Act. If passed. HB 5428 will keep original birth certificates and adoptee vital records under the padlock of the State of Illinois and at the mercy of the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Exchange (IARME) (a Feigenholtz creation) and its state-contracted searchers /confidential intermediaries at the privately owned Midwest Adoption Center. MAC is so secretive that it doesn't even publish the full names of its staff on its website. Feigenholtz calls this "progressive." This is what we call bullshit:

Intent of legislation. Adoptees have a right to their original birth certificates-- unless they don't.
The General Assembly recognizes that it is the basic right of all persons to access their birth records, and, to this end, supports public policy that allows an adult adoptee to access his or her original birth certificate. The General Assembly further recognizes that there are circumstances under which a birth parent may have compelling reasons for wishing to remain anonymous to a child he or she surrendered for adoption. In an effort to balance these interests, the General Assembly supports public policy that releases a non-certified copy of the original birth certificate to an adult adopted person upon request unless a specific request for anonymity has been filed with the Registry by a birth parent names on the original birth certificate.”

Illinois Open has summarized the bill:

GENERAL SUMMARY

All original birth certificates will be open until Jan. 1. 1946. If you were born after Jan. 1, 1946, then the birth parent can invoke a “denial.” This denial will only be good until December 31, 2010. As of January 1, 2011, the birth parent will have to file a Birth Parent Preference Form. If any person selects choice “E”, which is a denial of all information, then the adoptee will not receive a birth certificate. In essence, this is really a round-about disclosure veto.

and parsed out the bill so you don't have to:

DETAILS

Will this bill give all Illinois born adoptees the right to request and receive their original birth certificate without any conditions and without any falsifications. A. No Who will get their original birth certificates under HB 5428?

a) Those adoptees born before Jan. 1 1946.

b) Those adoptees who were born after Jan. 1 1946 and whose birth mothers do have not nor will not file any affidavit of denial or negative birth parent preference form. If the birth parent files any affidavit of denial, it prevents the adoptee from getting an original birth certificate.

c) Some adoptees will receive copies of original birth certificates with identifying information deleted by the state. These redactions will occur if one party named on the original birth certificate opposes its release.

d) Matching members of the Adoption Registry – adoptee will get an original birth certificate.

What recourse is given to an adoptee who doesn’t get his birth certificate?
The adoptee must wait 5 years. Then he/she can petition the CI system for a free search.

What efforts will the state make to inform birth parents about the new law?
1. Public service announcements in media.

2. Notices distributed to doctor’s offices, religious institutions, social welfare organizations & retirement homes.

3. Informational website

4. Announcement on all websites of adoption agencies in IL

5. Notices accompanying every vehicle registration renewal application between Oct. 31, 2010 and Nov. 1, 2011.

6. Notices enclosed with driver’s license renewal applications beginning 30 days after effective date of this act and thru Nov. 30, 2014.

What about denial forms filed before this act? I
If a birth parent has filed a Denial of Information prior to Jan 2, 2011, and there is no proof of death, then an adoptee may receive a non-certified copy of the original birth certificate from which all identifying information pertaining to the birthparent who filed the denial will be redacted. An alternative would be for a birth parent to file a Birth Parent Preference Form and select one of the 5 choices given. They range from no contact and no birth certificate, to contact with each other and document issued to the adoptee.

WHAT OTHER GENERAL CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE?

It is obvious that the facilitation of this Act would require a fiscal note. The Department of Public Health would establish and maintain the Registry for the purpose of allowing mutually consenting members of birth and adoptive families to exchange identifying and medical information. A new Advisory Council will be set up, members listed in the act itself. This Council will have a wide range of duties in the issuance and decision making process concerning the issuance of birth certificates and the interpretation of this Act. A Birth Parent Preference Form is in the current law already. It gives birth parents five different choices about having contact with their children. THIS IS NOT A CONTACT PREFERENCE FORM because the choice made by the birth parent is legally binding. If a birth parent selects “E” as an option on the preference form, which is the choice for no contact with the adoptee, then the adoptee will receive an uncertified copy with all identifying information redacted.

SECRETS AND DECEPTION: HB 5428 IS A STATE SECRET

Unlike last session's similar HB 4623 (death by committee neglect--or was it staged?), "introduced" at a press conference and greeted with much media hype and pimping, HB 5428 has been a state secret--like a bastard sealed inside an Illinois original birth certificate. (Remember this press conference. I'll come back to it in another blog.)

Last session's fanfare aside, Feigenholtz has a long history of playing the shell game with her "access" bills. That is, she submits a meaningless irrelevant shell bill as a placeholder until she and her crony Melisha Mitchell, a professional searcher/CI and director of the search company White Oak Foundation, get around to injecting their real agenda into the shell. Then, the "real" bill seems to get lost on its way to the Internet. House hearings in the especially-created-for-Feigenholtz Adoption Reform Committee which she chairs, are misrepresented, postponed or cancelled at the last minute or, as it seems in this case, not called at all (or at best only whispered.) Floor votes are announced after the fact. (Read That train keeps a rollin' referenced above to see how the scam worked last session. )

lllinois Open, Bastard Nation, the American Adoption Congress, the Green Ribbons, and independent bill watchers who check on bills weekly (or more often in Illinois due to Feigenholtz's incipient sneakiness) only learned of the NuBill's existence last weekend--after it passed the House-- when the St. Louis Post Dispatch published Bill on adoption advances in Springfield.

I did not look for HB 5428 myself, so I can't verify personally, but I've been told by three unrelated bill watchers that NuHB 5428 (at least in its current form) did not show up on the Illinois leg page until it was too late to do anything in the House. P-D reporter Kathleen Foody told me in an email that she covers the Illinois Statehouse for the paper and that the bill "caught her eye." Since we've heard not a peep from Illinois news outlets we can only assume that the bill hasn't "caught their eye" due to Feigenholtz's silence and deceptive practices, or they've been warned off. Whatever, the Feigenholtz-Mitchell machine decided to hush-hush it.

According to HB 5428 history, the shell bill was filed on February 4 and received a first reading the following day. The original four page bill (printer friendly) was introduced as a noncontroversial bookkeeping procedure to delete four words from 750 ILCS 50/18/05:

[amending] the Adoption Act. In provisions requiring the Department of Public Health to inform the public of the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange through notices enclosed with driver's license renewal applications, deletes language providing that the notices are required only until December 31, 2010. Effective immediately.

On February 16, the bill was sent to Feigenholtz's Adoption Reform Committee where on March 3, it was amended from a sunset deletion to an adoptee "access" reincarnation of last session's HB 4623.

NuHB 5428 (59 pages printer friendly) not only deletes a date, but beefs up the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange more than it already is with a tangle of complicated forms, "choices," tiers, and restrictions for adoptees, first and adoptive parents, and others, turned out in language that a Philadelphia lawyer would find difficult to decypher.

The bill received its second reading on March 10. On March 15 and 17, Amendments 2 and 3-- more bureaucracy to the already overburdened bill,--were introduced respectively on the House floor. On March 17 the amended bill received a (recalled) second AND third reading (short debate). On March 17 and 18, new sponsors were added. On March 18, the bill passed (short debate) and was sent to the Senate for a first reading on March 23.

Whew!

The bill currently resides in the Senate Assignments Committee where new Senate sponsors have signed on, and it waits to be sent to a friendly complaint committee. John Cullterton, Feigenholtz's mentor when he served in the House, is now President of the Senate.

NEXT: Sara Feigenholt's Small Circle of Friends.

ADDENDA: Triona.73 adoptee published a must-read blog on HB 5428. I was going to mention this is my series, but I think it's essential to put this out now (but out of place):

IL HB 5428 would make it a CRIME to pursue your own search via non-identifying information (damages plus $10,000 minimum punitive fine). From the bill text:

Any person who learns a sought-after relative’s identity, directly or indirectly, through the use of procedures provided in this Section and who improperly discloses information identifying the sought-after relative shall be liable to the sought-after relative for actual damages plus minimum punitive damages of $10,000.

Yes, you heard that right. If you're not adopted, it's called genealogy. But if you are adopted, under IL HB 5428 you will be penalized if you attempt to search on your own. This is so that all Illinois adoptees and their birth families will be forced through the jaws of the intermediary program's profit-making machine.

I'll be posting more blog reading in my next entry.

S799: ANOTHER NEW JERSEY UPDATE

New Jersey S799 has been assigned to the Assembly Human Services Committee. (click committee link) No hearing date has been scheduled.

Wanna hear more?

Read the guest editorial by The New Jersey Coalition to Defend Privacy in Adoption, NJ adoption reform: Protect the privacy of all parties in today's Newark Star-Ledger. The op-ed is headed with a cute but irrelevant picture of a 3-year old waiting to be anonymized by the Middlesex County Court. It will only take a minute, honey, and it won't hurt a bit. We doubt that 20 years from now little Faith Deuschel will be happy to learn she was pimped as an adoption secret and potential public enemy.

The New Jersey Coalition to Defend Privacy in Adoption is an unholy alliance of the New Jersey ACLU, the NJ Bar Association, the National Council for Adoption, New Jersey Right to Life, the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey, and The New Jersey Catholic Council--industry hacks, panderers, shamers, and control freaks--whacking off desperately in their great big bed. I wrote about them here, and you can find their 2008 statement here, but the original link to the "organization" is gone.

Here are the relevant parts:

Misstatements and misrepresentations are being made by individuals and groups trying to eliminate privacy for birth mothers — a privacy that has been protected by law for decades. These groups claim that New Jersey’s adoption law only protects the adopted child. That claim, however, is inaccurate.

Although the best interest of the child is paramount, New Jersey’s adoption law protects all of the parties involved in an adoption: the child, the birth parents and the adopting parents. It is important to note, however, that the select group of advocates who lobby to change the law in New Jersey and other states are no longer children, but adults...

They then go on to blather about the defunct Mills v Atlantic City case. Funny, no mention of Sundquist and Oregon decisions that defuncted it. (Go here for a brief synopsis of suits; I can't find a copy of Mills. If anyone has one, I'd be glad to link it),

The op-ed closes with:

Our coalition supports sensible and compassionate legislation that would take into consideration the interests of all parties. The foundation of such a system is an effective mutual consent registry established by the state to provide adoptees with access to their birth parents’ medical history and to link birth parents and adult adopted persons when the parties have requested and consented to such a reunion.

This mutual consent registry system would use qualified individuals and agencies to function as intermediaries to locate and verify the identity of adopted persons and birth parents. In the case in which a birth parent is unwilling to reunite, the intermediary would attempt to obtain family and medical history for the adoptee.

An analytic reader, of course, will notice that deformers and the "opposition" feed off each other. The Coalition statement is an ideological mirror of S799. Both spin protectionist language that degrades and infantalizes adopted persons and their families (original and adoptive). Both reject a class-based full restoration of the obc right. Both advocate a "special right" for parents to remain anonymous from their own offspring. Both espouse a nicey-nice "need" for medical information for which there is no right or semi-right--and information certainly not available through an obc, and in fact, guts the entire rights debate.

Bastardette and Bastard Nation oppose SA799 for legal and ethical reasons, but we also know self-interested flim-flam when we see it. This is flim-flammery at its AdoptionLand finest.

The legal arguments are done. We won. When will deformers stop campaigning on the enemy's terms? When will both just shut up and get out of the way?

NEW JERSEY UPDATE - S799 PASSES SENATE. ADOPTEES JILTED

Bye Bye rights!

As expected S799 passed a floor vote today in the New Jersey Senate 27-10. The bogus obc rights bill now goes to the Assembly.

Even though we oppose the bill, we are galled that opponents spout protectionist drivel:

Many of them may not know what we are doing here," Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) said of biological mothers, adding that would not give them the opportunity to protect their identities. He suggested the bill be reworked to protect the rights of everyone involved.

and proponents think this is some kind of heathcare bill:

"While we heard compelling testimony when this bill was before the Health Committee, the most compelling argument to me is the importance of accurate family medical histories in making major health care decisions," said Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), a sponsor.

Under the bill, biological parents who want to remain anonymous would notify the state registrar. During the one-year allotted period, adoptees would be able to contact the agencies that handled their adoptions to get nonidentifying medical information, including a family medical history, that could alert them to any genetic predispositions they may carry for certain illnesses.

We wonder what the State of Jersey will do when a first mom or dad has no objection to the release of the obc or meeting the adult kid, but has no desire to share her or his private medical history. Waterboard them?

Finally, sponsor, Sen. Joseph Vitale should expect a smack with a wet noodle from NJCare's Judy Foster for using "track down" to the press. Ms. Foster, a ranking member of the Politically Correct Adoption Language Police, threw a hissy at the AAC the other day when California Assmb. Fiona Ma (the majority whip no less) used the term during a talk on Calilfornia's ill-fated AB 372.

But Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), a sponsor of the bill (S799), said adoptees already use online resources to track down their biological parents and there is no process for that or control over it.

We'll keep you updated.

ILLINOIS OPEN/BASTARD NATION PRESS RELEASE: ADOPTEE RIGHTS SQUASHED AGAIN IN NEW ILLINOIS BILL – HB 5428`````````````````````````````````````````````

ILLINOIS OPEN
http://www.ilopen.org



BASTARD NATION: THE ADOPTEE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
www.bastard.org

distribute freely!

___________________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE
March 22, 2010
For Immediate Release

CONTACT INFORMATION
Anita Walker Field, 1-847-677-0594
Marley Greiner, 1-614-571-2999
Mary Lynn Fuller, 1-217-722-4814

ADOPTEE RIGHTS SQUASHED AGAIN IN NEW ILLINOIS BILL – HB 5428

On March 19, 2010, The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill that purports to give all adopted adults access to their original birth certificates. On March 23, 2010, HB 5428 GOES TO THE SENATE, awaiting committee assignment.

1. Under HB 5428, birth mothers will be allowed to file affidavits of denial – meaning that a birth mother can veto an adoptee’s right to access his or her original birth certificate.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STEP TO TAKE. IT CREATES AND CODIFIES A NEW RIGHT THAT HAS NEVER BEFORE BEEN IN OUR ADOPTION ACT.

2. Allows the state to delete a variety of identifying information from official documents, depending upon a birth mother’s response.

We believe:

HB 5428 needs to be amended in the Senate so that it would restore to ALL adoptees access to their original birth certificates, without any restrictions, such as prior parental approval. If that cannot happen, then HB 5428 must be pulled or left to die in committee.

Text of Bill: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09600HB5428lv&SessionID=76&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=5428&print=true

******

NOTE FROM BASTARDETTE: This is the same old same old Sneaky Sara Feigenholtz trick from last session and how many sessions before that. This crisis developed over the weekend and BN and Illinois Open have been working on it. The bill is worse than you can imagine. I've been in transit all day and got in from Sacramento an hour ago. I'm working on a blog, but it won't go out until tomorrow. Stay tuned...and Sara, if you're reading this, know you have no friends in AdoptionLand, at least those who count.

If you tweet about this bill use: #IILHB5428 We can keep track of whose writing.

BASTARD NATION LETTER TO NJ SENATE: VOTE NO ON S799

Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization, the largest adoptee civil rights organization in North America, opposes S799. We recommend that this bill be defeated on the Senate floor

S799 permits some New Jersey adopted adults to receive their true and accurate original birth certificates. Others, through the compromise language of the birthparent disclosure veto, will receive only a false and mutilated government document with the name and address of the parent(s) bureaucratically excised by the Department of Health and Senior Services by order of the birthparent(s).

Bastard Nation rejects the special right of birthparents to remove their names from the birth certificates of their own adult offspring. No other parent has that right. Why should birthparents have different rules?

We are also troubled that the bill requires birthparents, under specific circumstances, to submit a medical and health history to the state, a requirement that is most likely illegal under HIPAA and other privacy laws.

Since 1999 four states have restored to adoptees the unrestricted right to records and identity access: Oregon through ballot initiative, and Alabama, New Hampshire, and Maine through legislation. Why should New Jersey buck the tide and pass a bill that continues to treat adoptee access to their own birth certificates as a favor, not a right--a right that the non-adopted enjoy without a second thought?

Rights are for all citizens, not favors or privileges doled out by legislators and special interest groups. New Jersey does not segregate rights by religion, ethnicity, age, or gender. It should not segregate rights by birth, adoptive status, or parental preference.

Either go back and create a clean bill that restores the rights of all adoptees to full citizenship or kill this discriminatory bill that does nothing but grant favors to some and blacklists others.

All of the New Jersey's adoptees must enjoy equal protection, due process, and dignity. New Jersey adoptees deserve better than this.

Executive Committee
Bastard Nation: the adoptee rights organization

Anita Walker Field
Nina M. Greeley
Patricia Marler
Peter Mose
Marla Paul
Marley Greiner, Executive Chair

PO Box 1469
Edmond, OK 73083-1469
415-705-3166

BASTARD NATION ACTION ALERT: STOP NEW JERSEY S799. SENATE VOTE SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY

BASTARD NATION ACTION ALERT

Please forward freely

STOP DISCLOSURE VETO/WHITE OUT LEGISLATION IN NEW JERSEY!!!

ASK THE NEW JERSEY SENATE TO VOTE NO ON S799

DON'T LET PASSAGE OF BAD LEGISLATION IN NEW JERSEY THREATEN EFFORTS IN OTHER STATES FOR TRUE EQUAL ACCESS FOR ADULT ADOPTEES!!

IT'S BACK!

S799 , (formerlyA752) is scheduled for a floor vote in the New Jersey Senate March 22, 2010.

Please contact Senate members immediately and urge them to VOTE NO ON S799. See contact information below.If you are from or in New Jersey or have a New Jersey connection, be sure to mention it in your communication.

Be sure to put: "S799 Adoptee Birthright Bill - Please Vote NO" in the header

S799 is: restrictive, discriminatory, creates a new, special and temporary ”right” for "birthparents," and exempts the state's adopted adults from equal protection and treatment regarding the release of the government-generated public record of their births.

The bill:

*includes a 12- month open enrollment period, starting after the Department of Health releases regs for S799 implementation, that allows "birthparents," to file disclosure vetoes before obcs, past and future, are unsealed

*authorizes the state to replace the original birth certificate, of those subjected to the DV, with a mutilated copy of the obc with all identifying information, including the address of the parent(s) at the time of birth (if it appears on the cert) deleted.

*requires birthparents who file a disclosure veto to submit an intrusive and probably illegal medical and family history form to activate the veto.

*requires birthparents who file a "contact preference form" to fill out the same intrusive and probably illegal medical and family history form.

*seals by default all "safe haven" birth certificates, even though most "safe haven" babies are born in hospitals to identified mothers.

*requires adoption agencies and adoption lawyers to receive a written veto status report from the state before they can release identifying information to adoptees

*requires the state to mount an "information" campaign to inform birthparents of their "protection" options

S799 IS NOT AN OBC ACCESS BILL.
S799 IS NOT ABOUT RIGHTS.
S799 IS ABOUT PRIVILEGE

Bastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organization opposes legislation that denies any adult adoptees access to their own original birth records on par with all other citizens. Please let the Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizen Committee know that this issue is not about relationships between adoptees and their birthparents. It is about basic human and civil rights and the relationship between adoptees and the STATE of NEW JERSEY.

The New Jersey state government should not be in the business of denying adult adoptees access to their own birth certificates in a misguided attempt to appease a mythical adversarial standoff between adoptees and birthparents.

Inclusion of a disclosure veto in this bill, even within the 12-month "window of opportunity" perpetuates the violation of adoptee rights by making unaltered birth certificate access a privilege not a right.

Forcing, birthparents, under certain circumstances, to submit mandatory health and family history information to the state is intrusive and probably illegal.

Passage of bad legislation is New Jersey could easily undermine efforts of dedicated reformers who are holding the line for adoptee rights in other states.

New Jersey's S799 is an abomination in light of the restoration of the right of original birth certificate access to all persons adopted in Oregon, Alabama, and New Hampshire, and Maine. Adult adoptees and all who support adoptee rights should stand united for unrestricted access laws and not sell out just to get a bill passed! Disclosure veto legislation is unethical and unjust!

Please e-mail the New Jersey Senate and urge them to VOTE NO ON S799

READ THE FULL TEXT AT: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/S1000/799_I1.PDF

CONTACT information. The New Jersey Leg page has no listing of email addresses,. You can either go to each individual Senate member page and use the template http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/abcroster.asp or use the cut and paste list below,

SenAllen@njleg.org,
SenBateman@njleg.org,
SenBeach@njleg.org,
SenBeck@njleg.org,
SenBucco@njleg.org,
SenBuono@njleg.org,
SenCardinale@njleg.org,
SenCiesla@njleg.org,
SenCodey@njleg.org,
SenConnors@njleg.org,
SenCunningham@njleg.org,
SenDoherty@njleg.org,
SenGill@njleg.org,
SenGirgenti@njleg.org,
SenGoodwin@njleg.org,
SenGordon@njleg.org,
SenHaines@njleg.org,
Kean@njleg.org,
SenKyrillos@njleg.org,
SenLesniak@njleg.org,
SenMadden@njleg.org,
SenNorcross@njleg.org,
SenOtoole@njleg.org,
SenOroho@njleg.org,
SenPennacchio@njleg.org,
SenRice@njleg.org,
SenRuiz@njleg.org,
SenSacco@njleg.org,
SenSardo@njleg.org,
SenScutari@njleg.org,
SenSinger@njleg.org,
SenSmith@njleg.org,
SenStack@njleg.org,
SenSweeney@njleg.org,
SenTurner@njleg.org,
SenVandrew@njleg.org,
SenVitale@njleg.org,
SenWeinberg@njleg.org,
SenMadden@njleg.org,
SenSinger@njleg.org,
SenWhelan@njleg.org

THE SHERATON: BASTARDETTE NOT BANNED OR ARRESTED

Long time readers will remember when They Whose Names Must Not Be Spoken, in a fit of snit, claimed that Bastard Nation and Bastaradette had been banned from the Sheraton hotel chain for life.

The current AAC conference, in fact, is at the Sheraton Grand Hotel on J Street. When I entered no sirens, whistles and beeps went off, and so far I've not been followed around by hotel security to monitor attitude and intent.

I'm only attending sessions that interest me, which naturally limit what I'm doing here. (I forgot my Klennix box!) I've spent a lot of time walking around town, so here are some pictures. Note, that I prefer things over people.

Our CalOpen get-together at PF Chang's drew over a dozen people.

STALKED BY ADOPTION

Yesterday, I was minding my own business on the flight from Chicago to Sacramento. I'm engrossed in my book, Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin & the Great Depression. (Trust me. I escape from AdoptionLand's dysfunctional family circus as often as I can. Besides, I'm using the book as a lesson plan in how to become a demogoue).

So, I m reading and ever so gently the conversation from the row in front of me wafts back. I'm not evesdropping. But...

"Adoption"

No, that can't be!

I hope they are talking about adoption of the new school curriculum, or doggie adoption. Anything but the dreaded A word.

Again: " adoption"

Then "relinquishment"

More "adoption."

Then the baleful "birthmother."

More "adoption."

When we get off the plane I take a closer at the three women in front of me They seem vaguely familiar. I think they're from CUB, and they are obviously in Sacramento or the AAC.

No matter where I am, what I'm doing it, I am stalked. By adoption. Make it stop!

CLUELESS IN BOISE: CHARISA COULTER STILL DOESN'T GET IT

The last few days, I've been having difficulty writing about TeamSilsby. The subject has grown cumbersome, and any subset soon takes on a life of its own, then collapses in its own immensity. As a result. I've got several disjointed pieces that go together in some way, but have no logical transition, and grow more complex each time I try to de-complex them. It's enough to give me writer's block.

So, I'll take the easy way out for now and just throw some thoughts out. I'm still working on Part 2 of Haiti Earthquake Glorifies God; Also a piece on the Pickett family. But for now, here's a bit on Charisa Coulter's return.

Charissa Coulter has returned to Boise (via Miami) tearful and Jesused-up. According to news reports she was met by about 30 adoring fans at the airport, including five of her six Idaho cellies (Paul Thompson went missing). Central Baptists and friends after a brief prayer huddle burst into Amazing Grace upon her arrival. Of course, the real welcome will be for Mrs. Silsby. From the looks of the comments in the Idaho Statesman, though, (any article on TeamSilsby will do), when and if she's released, CVBC will be forced to use more than a choir to fend off locals wielding pitchforks and torches. Curiously, the latest version of the church's webpage makes no mention of its wandering member.

Coulter's statements to the press on her arrival in Boise are disturbing. She showed an incalculable amount of arrogance, ignorance, and selfishness about TeamSilsbly's "orphan" mission, the group's flaunting of Haitian law, and the hideous consequences of their actions. Not to mention how the average person anywhere in the world feels about them. Coulter’s “it’s all about loving children” translated into "it's all about me." But as long as it’s "me" that God is calling, it's OK. I guess.

And what about those 33 + a possible other 40 kids you were busy moving around during your phone calls with The Diety? Any care about them and their families?

Several news videos are up of the homecoming. This KTVB-TV report is the most detailed.



Unfortunately, it replaces an earlier video that captured some "interesting" comments from Coulter that were disappeared in the update. Luckily, I transcribed the most egregious parts of the unsanitized version (some of which remain in the current video) below.

Q: What’s your take on what’s going to happen? Any idea at this point?

CC: No, it’s all in God’s hands. I don’t know. We’re just gonna sit
back and we’re going let him do his job. and when he wills she’ll be back. She’ll be here with us.

Q: Are you worried about the charges at all?

CC: We don’t have to worry. It…it’s, ’s like I said, it’s in God’s hands and he wants us to trust him. We are 10 Christians who obeyed God’s calling. And we went to help the nation of Haiti and their children and for reasons unknown to us, it did not go the way we planned, but we realize that God is in control, and that this was what He wanted. It’s hard to understand there’s so much…there’s so much going on that we can’t see.

Q: Do you have any idea of the timeframe of when Laura will come back.

CC: No. I’m not going to speculate. It’s, their processes is different that ours and so we’re just going to let the judge and all those involved work it out

Repeat: We are 10 Christians who obeyed God’s calling.

Apparently:

*** coercing poor, traumatized and desperate parents--survivors of the worse earthquake in modern history--out of their children with promises of child resettlement to upscale living quarters, a pool, soccer field, and school (none of which exist except in TeamSilsby's head) and parental access to the kids via the Internet (!) ; that is, until the kids are adopted and spirited away by total strangers in the Great White Protestant North.

*** sneaking through back alleys and banging on orphanage doors with an entrepreneurial sociopath who can't even pay her own employees and mortgage;

*** lying to Haitian, Dominican, and US government officials about your activities;

*** collecting money through legally questionable fund raising procedures back home;

***diverting attention and funds from a massive humanitarian crisis to feed your specialness;

***and mucking up genuine material aid and medical treatment for thousands of homeless and injured and dying people

qualifies as "God's calling."

Repeat: And we went to help the nation of Haiti and their children and for reasons unknown to us, it did not go the way we planned...

Incredibly, Coulter told KIVI-TV's's Jackie Orozco that she hopes to return to Haiti to "to help in the future."

Homecoming photo from The Idaho Statesman

ANOTHER DEAD RUSSIAN ADOPTEE: IVAN SKOROBOGATOV

Go to Nikto Ne Zabyt - Nichto Ne Zabyto for my collection of Russian posts.

Mirah Riben, author of The Dark Side of Adoption and The Stork Market appeared on the English language Russian Television (RT) yesterday to discuss international adoption corruption and the death of Russian adoptee Nathaniel Craver, born Ivan Skorobogatov. Vanya, 7, died on August 25, 2009 after being taken off life support. In 2003, he and his twin sister Dasha (now known as Elizabeth) were adopted from an orphanage in Chelyabinsk. His forever family, Michael Craver, 45 and Nanette, 54 Craver have been charged with homicide, conspiracy and child endangerment. The autopsy revealed Vanya suffered 80 external injuries, including 20 to the head. The Cravers are currently being held in the York County Jail with no bond.

The case has been handled very badly by authorities in Carroll Twn, Pennsylvania where the boy lived. This is a big story in Russia and it won't' go away.

I have been collecting information on the case, and have gotten behind in posting due to other work. I'll have something shortly.

OLD VIDEO: TEAMSILSLBY: THE TEN MUSKETEERS

KTVB-TV has disappeared one of the videos I embedded in the blog I'm finishing right now. While looking for it, I found this BONUS VIDEO: a February 9 interview with Charisa Coulter's father, Mel and Eric Thompson, husband of detainee Carla Thompson. A serious luv fest for Haiti.

Thompson assures us that he loves Haiti--or rather "those people"-- and prays for the government every day to do the right thing by his wife who only wanted to "help children." Nothing about praying for the families his wife helped break up or mention of the illegal activities she engaged in to do it.

Coulter opines that it's "unethical" to separate Silsby/Coulter from the other eight since the lawyers were hired to represent all of them. They went in "ten as one" and they need to come out as one. Gee, funny how Jim Allen claims those lawyers never represented him. And he got out "as one" while the rest of them were left to stew.

Reporter Ysabel Bilbao closed her report saying the men believe that "the country is better because of the group."

I've played the tape several times and don't hear them say that, but it sounds like something they'd say. Or maybe Bilbao was getting her own snark in. If anyone wonders how the Haiti earthquake could have been made any worse than it was, the answer isn't far way.

JOIN CAL OPEN AND ME IN SACRAMENTO ON THURSDAY

If you're in the Sacramento area on Thursday (March 18) and support unrestricted obc please join Jean, Nina, me, and other CalOpen and Bastard Nation folks at P.F. Chang's. Go to this link and hit the RSVP button.


California adult adoptees and their supporters are speaking in a seasoned voice through Cal Open in the Capitol Halls and Committee Chambers. We hold the accurate historical background of record sealing and understand California's rights on privacy.

Our position is clear:

California Adult Adoptees have a right to the records of their own births, second to none.

Cal Open Special Session
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
5 PM - 7 PM
Sacramento

Welcoming
Marley Greiner, Executive Director
Bastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organization


California's Code Challenges and Case Precedent on Privacy
Historical Evidence Incremental Steps to Openness Fails
Presented by Nina A. Greeley, Esq.


PF Chang China Bistro
1530 J Street, Sacramento

Valet parking available. FREE street parking, after 6 PM

LEARN MORE and RSVP to secure your seat early!


2010 Legislative Session Commenced January 4th
AB 372 "will not be pursued", according to author Assemblymember Fiona Ma's Capitol Office.
Cal Open is monitoring newly introduced adoption related bills for the 2010 session.

Status of Assembly Bill 372
AB 372 is now an INACTIVE bill.
This status was sent from the Assembly Appropriations Committee and filed with the Chief Clerk, pursuant to Joint Rule 56, on February 2nd. 2010.
Review the 2009 bill history.


Cal Open Expands Services

In recognition of adoptee needs throughout the state, California Open has initiated search & support services with purposeful activism for triad members, including local groups statewide for members. Our mail list service is activated and groups are forming. Stay tuned for new developments!

Sacramento Adoptee Meeting
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
(1st Wednesday of every month)
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Marie Callender's
(Library Room)
5525 Sunrise Blvd.
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
RSVP: Jean (916) 213-0992 or
acconet@comcast.net

Sacramento Triad Meeting
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
(2nd Wednesday of every month)
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Marie Callender's
(Library Room)
5525 Sunrise Blvd.
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
RSVP: Jean (916) 213-0992 or
acconet@comcast.net