The BASTARDIZED states of Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia (July 1, 2025), Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont are the only U.S. states where adult adoptees have unrestricted access to their own original birth records.
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Despite being raised by U.S. citizen parents and having no memories of her country of birth, the woman is in active immigration removal proceedings that threaten to deport her to Iran, where the U.S. has not held diplomatic ties since 1980. Her father, a decorated WWII U.S. Air Force veteran, survived a German POW camp and death march before bringing her home to the U.S.
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As I said, Jean Uhrich was a force of nature. Maddeningly so. She could be opinionated en extremis. There were times when I wanted to scream “just shut up,” but didn’t. And, she could be kind and generous. She loved Bastards and loved the fight. She stood for something. Jean’s work will not go to waste. One of these days California WILL fall. Jean was a warrior. She stood on the shoulders of Bastard Elders and others will stand on her shoulders. Jean will be missed. Is missed.
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Use our timeline for amusement and education. Imagine the fun you’ll have telling your state legislators that your records were sealed before Pearl Harbor was bombed; Babe Ruth retired and Jackie Robinson broke the color line; school segregation was illegal; Social Security and the CIA existed; Watergate, Elizabeth was Queen; Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were assassinated….and before most of those lawmakers were born.
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The long-lost documentary Measure Rights: is now online. Measurable Rights The fight for open records in Oregon is the story of Helen Hill and Bastard Nation, who used Oregon’s Ballot Measure 58 to open sealed …
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Fed up with Safe Haven Baby Boxes? Let Boxers know. Join us on Stop Safe Haven Baby Drop Boxes today. Open to anyone in and out of AdoptionLand who finds anonymously abandoning a baby by …
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If you are tired of forced birthers exploiting adoptees to push their agenda, please check out #NotYourAbortee #NotYourPosterChild on Facebook The page is run by adoptees to smash abortion abolitionist conflation of abortion and adoption
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Bastard Swag Boutique. Your one-stop shop for everything Bastard! Proceeds benefit Bastard Nation.
Continue readingIf you are new to Bastard Nation or to adoptee rights, start with The Basic Bastard to get up to speed.
Continue readingEasy to read, easy to print, easy to distribute. Bastard Nation policy statements for activists, legislators, and the press.
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There is no state interest in keeping original birth certificates sealed from adult adoptees to whom they pertain nor does the state have a right or duty to mediate and oversee the personal relationships of adults. The debate on the release of OBCs to its adopted citizens is small v large government issue. Small government should win this one.
Adopted people in 16 states have unrestricted access to their OBCs, including all of New England and 3 deep South conservative states (Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia). Not a single negative report about unsealing has been published. OBC access, through the efforts of policy and lawmakers is being normalized. Adoptees are beginning to be treated just like the Not Adopted.
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25 years have passed since Helen Hill and Bastard Nation launched the 3rd wave of the adoptee rights movement with our successful Oregon Ballot Measure 58….We’ve wondered how many certs Oregon has released since then. Here’s the latest report straight from the state:
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There is no state interest in keeping original birth certificates sealed from adult adoptees to whom they pertain nor does the state have a right or duty to mediate and oversee the personal relationships of adults. The debate on the release of OBCs to its adopted citizens is small v large government issue. Small government should win this one.
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We launched the 2026 Bastard Nation Legislative page on January 2.
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Happy Holidays to Bastards, Friends, and Allies. If you aren’t with us…
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It was a great pleasure to be part of the discussion, Are Baby Baby Boxes Saving Lives? broadcast on The Stream, (Al Jazeera English) on December 10. The panel, besides myself: Nadene Grabham, Director of Baby Savers SA/Doorof Hope, and Patricia Knight Meyer, adoptee rights activist, blogger (My Adopted Life,and author of the forthcoming memoir, Wonderland: A Black Market Baby’s Rise from the Rabbit Hole.) Also clips from activists Abbi Johnson (Liberty Lost podcast) and Adopted Connor.
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Bastard Nation is a proud partner organization in the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, along with the Adoptee Rights Law Center and the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York. Plus strategic partner Reclaim the Records
Bastard Nation is a proud partner in the Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition, along with Equality for Adoption, Gladney Adoptees for Rights and Equality, and the Adoptee Rights Law Center. Plus strategic partner Reclaim the Records