Bastard Nation will be sponsoring an informational event outside theaters showing the adoption-related film "Secrets and Lies" on Sunday, February 2 in eight cities across the nation, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle (see below).

"Secrets and Lies" tells the story of a British adoptee who accesses her original birth records, searches for and is reunited with her birthmother. The movie has won numerous awards including the Golden Globe award for Best Actress, the Palm D'or at Cannes and is expected to receive several Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

The purpose of our event will be to make the public aware that, while an adoptee's original birth record has long been available upon reaching the age of majority in Britain and elsewhere, this is not the case in most of the U.S. and Canada. This is especially important in light of the significant press recently received through the films "Flirting With Disaster", "Secrets and Lies" and a recent episode of the popular television show, "Melrose Place", all of which suggest that an adult adoptee can easily access his or her birth records. Birth records are still sealed for adult adoptees in most states in the U.S.

Adoptee author Betty Jean Lifton will be at the New York City location. Birthmother author Carol Schaefer will be participating at the San Francisco site.

Bastard Nation in the fastest-growing international adoptee-rights movement in the adoption reform movement today. Visit our website at http://www.bastards.org/ for information on our mission and services to the adoptee community, including the Terminal Illness Emergency Search (TIES) program, Internet Activism Workshops, RegDay Involvement and more.

We will be outside the following theaters on Sunday, February 2, distributing literature and answering questions on sealed records and searching for adult adoptees: