Do you agree with this statement regarding why adoptees should have access to their obc?
I am quoting a friend of mine who says the following. "Reunion may be a bi-product of restored access to OBCS, although, it is never a guarantee. However, reunion is not the reason our OBCs should be restored to us. Adoptees should gain access to their OBCs as a matter of EQUALITY. Period. No other citizen is denied their factual birth documentation but adoptees; no one can argue that adoptees are treated differently than every other citizen and no one can provide a good enough reason why should have fewer civil rights than anyone else does."
?2010-02-06T15:04:18Z
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I totally agree with it. What an adoptee chooses to do with the information on their OBC is no one's business. The fact that we are being denied our OBC is the issue when it comes to this being a civil rights issue.
When we bring in the reunion side of this to the LEGAL fight for our OBC, it muddies the water. Not every adoptee wishes to search, but every adoptee should have access to their OBC.
The anti-choice zealots have been adoptees biggest enemy in this, citing that closed records are for the privacy of the "birthmother". Fact is, I cannot find one first Mom who ever wanted to be "protected" from their relinquished child, nor did the want to remain anonymous. BUT- The first Mother aspect can hurt help AND hurt adoptees in this fight. Its about ADOPTEES getting their OBC's, NOT first Mother's having it. First Mothers are not the ones having issues getting passports and other legal papers because of an altered OBC.
It should not matter WHY we want our OBC's. The fact is that we CANNOT have our OBC's, when every other citizen is permitted to have theirs. It's about equality, NOT about what we do with the information.
Having access to the OBC can facilitate reunion in cases where it contains unknown information, that's a good thing, but that's not really the main point of argument in favour, because it rests on what some people may or may not desire, not on the basic rights that should apply to everyone whether or not they choose to exercise them.
The main issue is equality, which is indeed a matter of civil rights.
Adoptees should have the same rights as non adopted people and have an automatic right to their OBC. In the UK they can from the age of 18 but I still think all adoptees worldwide should have this anyway.
I agree with the statement. Reunion is a different issue. I didn't need access to my OBC to find my parents. I found them more than twenty years ago, and I still have yet to lay eyes on my birth certificate. Like maybe my eyes will burn out and I'll self destruct? Or possibly the world will stop revolving and humanity will come to a screeching halt? Reunions take place, the cat jumps out of the bag, and birth records are still sealed. Altered birth certificates are a sales pitch by the industry to potential adopters. They're an insult to everyone who is forced to recognize them. Reunion has nothing to do with the insane, discriminatory, and arbitrary laws preventing people from possessing a true and accurate historical record of their birth. Honestly, I would prefer no birth certificate to being forced by law to present a lie. That thing I'm required to use to generate other forms of identification is nothing more than a sales receipt. That profane, fraudulent document is an offense to everything sacred.
No, reunion is never a guarantee but how would an adopted person learn all they want to know if they don't contact their natural mother/family? I personally believe that it goes a lot deeper than a question of civil rights. It is also about identity, heritage and unanswered questions.
I am certainly in favor of adult adoptees being given access to their OBCs, just as I am in favor of the coercion and violation of their civil rights of the mothers being addressed in a public forum. The purpose of this should be seeking redress and acknowledgment that the whole mess started with that gross insult to the mother/child bond.
Natural mothers should also have equal access to the amended birth certificates. JMO