Buy a Chinese Baby?! Read on.
This blog has been languishing much like the effort to unseal adoption records in many U.S. States.
Writing has kept me traveling since my last post, and many of the places I’ve traveled through and spent time in have variations of the same terrible adoption laws I’ve commented on in this blog. It was depressing to belabor the point.
So far in 2009, I’ve spent time in Vermont, New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa (where my son was adopted) Nebraska & Oregon. Only Oregon has open records. One state out of all the states I’ve mentioned. I’ve also driven through Nevada (where gambling & prostitution are legal 24 hours a day) Utah & Colorado. It’s a big country and the prospects of birth parents and children reuniting are sparser than opportunities for a gourmet meal along the interstate.
The line between legitimate adoptions and the selling of babies is nebulous at best. After considering this all my life, I cannot fathom the justification for sealing records. It’s a basic civil right to know from whom you were born.
I found your blog through ULB, and am looking forward to reading more.
There IS no justification for closed records. It’s an unfair practice based on outmoded and judgmental attitudes, and simply needs to end.
I just got thumped in an adoption forum for being a “liberal” because I made the point that adoptive parents should embrace this cause as their own. The thumper told me that being showing support for this “PC” issue must mean that I put my children second in my life.
It never ceases to amaze me how complicated APs have made this very simple, very clear civil and human rights issue. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.