OBC
FOR ME
WHAT'S THE BILL ABOUT?
LD1084 is about: Freedom, truth and justice, the basic core values of this nation.
- Restoring a basic human and civil right to ALL adult adoptees: their truthful and accurate original birth certificate (denied to most, but not all, since 1953) (1)
- Ending the discrimination against a sub-class of people, created by the circumstances of their birth, at which time they had no say in the matter
- Trusting adult adoptees to act responsibly with their own truthful information
- Empowering original parents to make a choice regarding contact via the Contact Preference Form
- Acknowledging (a) the success of identical legislation that has been in effect in Oregon, Alabama and New Hampshire and running smoothly for one to six years and (b) the success in Alaska or Kansas who have always allowed adult adoptees unrestricted access to their original birth certificates and their adoption records (c) that in these states, adoptions have increased and abortions have decreased (d) the judicial decisions made in Oregon and Tennessee
- Understanding that mothers and fathers who surrendered, consented or had their parental rights terminated forfeited ALL their parental rights in signing the binding state relinquishment document, including any right to control the disposition of the child’s birth certificate, which is owned by the state
- Understanding that Maine adoptive parents have always been enabled by Maine law to retain the child’s original name and birth certificate
- Providing updated medical history that will save lives (2) to many of the eligible 15,000+ (3) adoptees who will be 18 or over in 2007, as well as the lives of their descendents
- Preventing inadvertent incest via the knowledge of original surnames
- Increasing the awareness of the ethical Standards of Excellence in Adoption Practices set forth by the oldest and most respected child welfare agency in the nation: the Child Welfare League of America
- LD1084 without amendment requires no fiscal note; it is the right and just thing to do! (4)
(1) Some who have access at some time or all the time to their original birth certificates: (1) All international adoptees (except foundlings) adopted in Maine, (2) most children adopted through the Maine foster care system, (3) children adopted under the Indian Child Welfare Act at age 18, (4) children who remain in the foster care system (4) adoptees born and adopted prior to Augusts 8, 1953, (5) adoptees born in any of the 7 states allowing access and adopted in Maine (6) adoptees who have knowledge of (a) the county of their adoption and possibly the original parents names from the adoption papers retained by their adoptive parents, (b) their right to petition the Probate Court, and (c) the financial resources to petition the Probate Court.
(2) Including mental, physical, psychological and spiritual health issues
(3) Number of unrelated adoptions in Maine between 1953 and 1989, per the Maine Office of Vital Records.
(4)“The agency providing adoption services should support efforts to ensure that adults who were adopted have direct access to identifying information about themselves and their birth parents.”