Legislative Watch

Legislative Watch

(This feature first appeared in the Spring/Summer 1998 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)

Oregon

For the first time in the history of our nation, a measure that would open records
to adult adoptees will appear on a state's election ballot. In November of this year
the voters of Oregon will vote on Measure 58, a simple initiative that will open origi-
nal birth certificates to adoptees age 21 or older. Activist, adoptee, and artist Helen
Hill is the Chief Petitioner of the measure, as well as Bastard Nation's Oregon State
Director, and has worked tirelessly to bring this issue directly to the people.

Ballot initiatives are an effective tool to seek justice when all too often the legisla-
ture is no place to find it, but they also are expensive. Helen has funded the initiative
to this point almost entirely on her own. It is time for the adoption reform community
to get involved and give back so that the message of open records for adult adoptees
will be heard by the voters of Oregon-and eventually the entire United States. To this
end, individuals and organizations around the U.S. will be holding fundraisers to
benefit the Oregon Initiative.

If you would like to volunteer to help with Measure 58, please contact Helen
Hill at henry@pdx.oneworld.com or phone 503-368-5786. To find out more
about fundraising for the Measure, email oregon@plumsite.com.

Delaware

This summer, the Delaware legislature considered a bill, HB 522, which would
have allowed adoptees unconditional access to their original birth certificates.
While Bastard Nation was not the primary author or proponent of the legislation, we
agreed to assist the DE Coalition in its attempt to enact a clean bill so long as the
bill was not amended to include such compromise.s as disclosure and/or contact
vetoes. The DE Coalition was aware that if such amendments were introduced that
BN would not only withdraw its support but would attempt to kill the bill.
As late as June 22,1998, Bastard Nation was assured-in writing-by DE Coalition
member and AAC State Representative Carolyn Hoard that if amendments were
offered, the DE Coalition would pull the bill from consideration. HB 522 passed
the DE House without amendments unanimously. Then in a stunning turn of events,
minus only ONE vote in the Senate, the DE Coalition agreed to a last minute birth-
parent veto amendment that in effect continues die seaied reoords system. Governor
Caiper signerl the veto bill, but only afrer receiving a guarantee from the sponsoring
legislator to enact birthparent veto notification procedures in next year's legislative
session, effectively rendering meaningless the DE Coalition's OTHER promise to
remove the veto in 1999.

New Jersey

After a few years of lobbying a bill that contained disclosuse vetoes, T'he New
Jersey Coalition for Openness in Adoption headed by AAC President Jane Nast had
supposedly committed to a bill that would provide adoptees with unrestricted access
to their original birth certificates. However, NJCOA apparently forgot to
tell the sponsoring legislators. On 5/21, the NJ Senate Committee on Women's
Issues, Children and Family Services discussed three records-related bills:1)
S-270, which would establish a mutual consent voluntary registry, 2) S-354,
which would require that agencies which handled adoptions release non-identifying
developmental history, including medical history, to an adopted person 18 or over
requesting it, or to the adoptive parent or guardian of a minor adoptee, and 3) S-498,
which would provide adult adoptees 18 or older with a copy of their original birth
certificate unless their birthparent had filed a disclosure veto.

As in past years, the veto bill did not go anywhere with the NJ legistature, but
NJCOA is proclaiming that they intend to continue to lobby the bill, apparently with
disclosure vetoes still intact. If you would like to protest NJCOA's anti-adoptee bill
and tactics, please contact Jane Nast at JaneNast@compuserve.com.

Washington

HB 2810 and SB 6496, which would have provided a copy of the original birth
certificate to adult adoptees on request, passed both committees in the House and
Senate by wide margins. Unfortunately in the short, 60-day legislative session, the
bills did not make it out of the Rules committee before the cut-off date of
February l7th. Washington activists are watching the Oregon ballot initiative and
WA Legislative elections, and continue to consider their options for the 1998-9
Legislative Session. If you would like to participate in WA State open records,
please email Shea Grimm at sheag@oz.net.

Texas

Earlier this year, TXCARE, headed by birth mother Alicia Lanier began
promoting their "Texas Adoptee Rights Resolution," which they intended to get
introduced as a plank in both the Democratic and Republican Texas Patty
platforms. Bastard Nation expressed concern for the strategy, fearing that
control of the process could easily be lost, and a plank might be introduced that
codified the notion of vetoes. In fact, in the Republican platform, that is exactly
what happened. A TXCARE rep stated initially that they included the contact
veto language to placate legislators, but other representatives stated that the
language didn't imply a contact veto at all. Emails to TXCARE requesting
clarification in the form of an official statement denouncing veto legislation,
went ignored. Meanwhile, Alicia Lanier recently wrote an article for the CUB
(Concerned United Biithparents) newsletter implying that the inclusion
of contact vetoes in future TXCARE- supported legisiation was inevitable.
At this point, we're confused about what TXCARE wants and what they stand for
It's clear that adoptee rights are no longer their primary agenda.

(This feature first appeared in the Spring/Summer 1998 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)