Adoptee Rights Days
June 2 - 9, 2001
Adoptees and Supporters Gather to Educate the Public in Peaceful Protest
against Permanently Sealed Birth and Adoption Records
Nationwide: During
the week of Saturday June 2nd - Saturday June 9th,
adoptee-rights activists 
around
the country will be gathering to educate the public
about permanently sealed birth and adoption records. Events will include protests at Vital Records and government buildings,
educational leafleting, street theater and special educational events
sponsored by local adoption support and reform groups.
Today,
millions
of North Americans are prohibited by law from accessing personal, government
held records that pertain to their historical, genetic and legal identities.
Building
on the success of Oregon’s historic open records ballot initiative Measure
58, and the recent passage of an open records law in Alabama, Adoptee
Rights Days seek to keep the public informed about adoptee rights issues
and the need to move forward in ending government-sanctioned shame in
adoption. This event is sponsored by Bastard Nation,
but many groups participate. Formed in 1996, Bastard Nation speaks out
against the archaic practice of sealed records and is dedicated to the
equal treatment and dignity of all adopted citizens.
Adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents will be present at
ARD events to discuss their experiences and answer questions.
ARD
originally celebrated the passage of Oregon's Adoptee Rights Initiative
in December of 1998. Now in
its third year, ARD celebrates the anniversary of the final victory
of Measure 58, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
June 2nd was the day when the Oregon Vital Records offices started
mailing out original birth certificates to Oregon-born adult adoptees.
Bastard Nation: 415-704-3166
www.bastards.org