Sorry folks it was rodeo week for the area in which I live. It was not competition for us. It was a PRCA sanctioned event. It is a time for all in the ranching community to get together for a social event. I will post pictures later. Both of my daughters rode in the parade with their daddy.
The adoption law in Texas is a frigging joke. They so desparately want to protect those "birthmothers from the past." Like I said, its a joke. There are several reasons why I say this.
1. Our natural mothers don't want that privacy from their own children. I can prove this just by going and checking out all the statistics from other states that allow adoptee access. What is ironic is not even our natural parents have access to the original birth certificates of their children. Our natural parents were not guaranteed privacy because their relinquishment papers were not sealed along with the rest of the adoption paperwork. Why you might ask? The relinquishment and the adoption were two separate events. Now our natural parents probably do want privacy from the state and from the adoption agency that they were coerced/chose to use. We must also not forget that our parents did also relinquish their rights but also keep in mind that adoptees did not. Most natural parents will tell you that they want their children to have their rights.
2. The birth, death, marriage and death indices in Texas are published. WE all have access to them through our libraries. Reunion is pretty much a cinch here in Texas. Access to our original birth certificate is not about reunion because we already have access to the possibility of reunion. It is about the right to the document that accurately records our birth. Texas is considered semi-open in the realm of the adoption underworld. Honestly what is the point of having a sealed record system when we can find in other ways? It is one of those things that just doesn't make sense.
3. If you were to read, The Baby Thief, which by the way I plan on myself, it would tell you the real reason why records were sealed. In one very public story about Joan Crawford, her adopted son was returned to his natural parents. There were many stories where this woman illegally obtained children to pass on to others for the sake of profit. The reason why records were sealed were to protect those who abused the rights of others. Because adoption is a feel good thing for so many, the records were sealed so that legislators did not have to face the ramifications of those agencies' actions.
4. The very reasons why legislators don't want to take on adoption reform are two. The first one is that these agencies are making a huge profit. Texas is a business oriented state. They want to push any industry that makes a buck. The second reason is that adoption is a preferable alternate. After all it does save babies. Abortion is an issue where no one wants to tackle the truth behind it. No one wants to promote sex education. They promote abstinence here in Texas. Geez - with Texas having one of the highest abortion rates in the country is abstinence really working? Telling young boys and girls how their parts work would greatly help reduce abortion. Interestingly enough, one study put out last November by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute said that only 25% of women putting their children up for adoption were teenagers. I don't know what the rate of abortions are for each age group. You can go to the Alan Guttmacher website for that. Texas legislators are promoting a bill that would pay women for the children. A measly five hundred dollars. The adoption industry is already a corrupt business. It is motivated by the huge profit margin that they get from convincing women to give their children up for adoption. They do use any means possible to get that product ( that precious little baby). I wonder if this legislator that presented this bill realizes that he is adding to the pockets of agencies like Gladney Adoption Center, Bethany and LDS. When the CEO of Gladney makes 200,000 dollars per year, who is really profiting? They encourage these women to use medicaid in order to have these children. Makes you wonder doesn't it?
5. The other thing that never ceases to make me wonder. Adoptees don't have any rights. Although I do believe in reunion, my choice in reunion, and believe in adoptee access, there are those adoptees who don't want contact with their natural families. They may want their OBC but they don't want contact with them. I was confronted by such an adoptee last year at this time. She did get a call from her natural mother. She wanted to be warned of such a thing. Yes, I do believe that all should be allowed to have a contact preference form. Adoptees don't get to have a real voice on this issue. We are constantly forced to ask our adoptive parents, natural parents, adoption agencies, adoption attorneys, and state legislators for permission to look at our own records. This is something that no one else in the non adoption sector has to deal with.
Isn't time for those living adoption to make the decisions on the laws instead of those profitting off adoption? Those adoption agencies need to have their books see the light of day. Those adoption agencies need to be held accountable for the actions in the past and today.
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