ACTION ALERT - PLEASE FORWARD FREELY
MICHIGAN HOUSE BILL 4896
A bill has been introduced into the House of Representatives in Michigan. This bill will allow all adopted adults to request and receive, unconditionally, their original birth certificate. The bill contains a non-binding contact preference form. It is as close to a perfect bill as you'll ever see!Dee Lindeman, Co-Moderator "Michigan Searching,” reports that The Michigan House Committee on Family & Children's Services will be hearing testimony on the bill this Wednesday, March 5th at 1030 am. Letters written in support of the bill are being accepted via e-mail to her local House Rep, Lisa Wojno, who introduced the bill on her behalf. They will then be copied and distributed at the hearing. You can send them to: lisawojno@house.mi.gov .Please write now, before you leave your computer. It won't take but a few minutes. Believe me, this bill is worth it!!Here is a link to House Bill 4896 (Senate Bill 0592 is an exact duplicate in its wording): http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billintroduced/House/pdf/2007-HIB-4896.pdf
Anita Walker Field
Bastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organization
**************************************************************
GRANNIE ANNIE SENDS AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL SUPPORTERS OF MICHIGAN HB 4896
Hi Dee and All Your Supporters:I think it was a very wise choice to pattern your bill, HB 4896, after Oregon's, because of its track record in both the state and federal courts. That's a really good selling point. Don't forget the electorate who voted overwhelmingly for the bill and also the legislators, who legally could have changed that ballot initiative, but didn't.All you people who were involved with writing this bill should be very proud of yourselves. You all are filing a near-perfect bill. This is a bill that deserves a fight to the finish. Your bill is the one which everyone in the adoption community has been waiting for and can support it until it is passed into law. That's because your bill treats all adopted adults in an identical manner and all birth mothers with understanding and respect.Yes, there are always rumors of legislators and others lurking in the wings to amend your bill. You must not let them do this. They are not right. You are!! Believe in your bill 100%. Remember, you are not asking the legislators for pity, or for favors, or for crumbs. You aren't asking them for a registry or a Confidential Intermediary System. You are asking them to change an archaic sealed records system so that once again, all adopted adults can get their original birth certificates. You know all this already and I realize that I'm just preaching to the choir. But please bear with this old adopted grannie who has been around for a long, long time now. I write to encourage all of you to remain strong. Don't give in! Your first hurdle is the committee hearing that is coming up this week. Don't let any legislators decide what is right for you. YOU already know what it is right for you. And your bill says exactly what you expect. Don't accept anything else. Go into that hearing with your heads held high. You have the perfect bill! Some legislators will expect you to kow tow to them and to change your bill. That's what's happened way too often in the history of adoptee rights. Surprise them! Insist that they change their minds, because you are not going to change your bill.You can look for support from the adoptee rights network all over the country. Believe me, we are all behind you 100%. We want to help you take this unconditional bill all the way to the governor's office for his signature. Remember, too, that your bill is an adoptee rights bill – not a search/reunion bill. You'll probably have to educate a lot of people along the way who think that the intent of your bill is to facilitate searches and reunions. Please keep in mind that the people who want search and reunion bills are the very same people who want to see the state continue to exercise control over adopted men and women. Your bill deals with civil and human rights. You don't just pass out civil and human rights to some citizens and not others. It's all or nothing. Your bill rightly mandates the state to release all of its control over all of its adopted adults. I apologize for being such a cheer leader but the older I get, the more sure I am that a bill such as yours must not be wasted. It MUST be passed into law. You can do it!Thanks for your patience. Please feel free to circulate my letter.And remember, if you need any help, just whistle.
Sincerely,
Anita,
aka Grannie AnnieAnita Walker Field
awfield@gmail.com
Director: Illinois Open Org.obc@ilopen.org
Executive SecretaryBastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organizationwww.bastards.org
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
THE A.S.S. GOT CIRCUMVENTED AGAIN
Nannie nannie boo boo. Stick your head in Doo Doo. I know an adoption search specialist who got bypassed. I know an adoptee who got her information. I know that St. Elizabeth Coleman didn't scam another adoptee. Poor Katrina Carlisle didn't spin another lie out for an adoptee. Poor Katrina didn't get another free $325.00 buckeroos. Katrina didn't ruin a reunion. This person actually has a chance. The best part is that its on the adoptee's terms. Not some former agency director's terms.
This individual found out that Katrina lied to them about what is in their records. I wonder does she have scripts for all the adoptees. All of our stories are amazingly similiar in some context. Does she tick off our mothers? Does she rehumiliate them again and again? Afterall she used to be the agency director of Coleman. I am sure she got real good at it when she was "convincing" these young women to relinquish.
For those Coleman mothers and adoptees still searching, guess what there is going to be an Adoptee Rights Protest on July 22, 2008 in New Orleans. You really ought to be there. If you can't, start writing the legislators up there. Be careful of Senator Meeks. He thinks our mothers need to be protected from us. He considers us bastards as the unwanted children. Time to educate.
This individual found out that Katrina lied to them about what is in their records. I wonder does she have scripts for all the adoptees. All of our stories are amazingly similiar in some context. Does she tick off our mothers? Does she rehumiliate them again and again? Afterall she used to be the agency director of Coleman. I am sure she got real good at it when she was "convincing" these young women to relinquish.
For those Coleman mothers and adoptees still searching, guess what there is going to be an Adoptee Rights Protest on July 22, 2008 in New Orleans. You really ought to be there. If you can't, start writing the legislators up there. Be careful of Senator Meeks. He thinks our mothers need to be protected from us. He considers us bastards as the unwanted children. Time to educate.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
ACTION ALERT FROM BASTARD NATION
This is from Grannie Annie.
Friends of IllinoisOpen
I have had some contact with Representative Sara Feigenholtz over this last weekend. The bill she and her aide Melisha Mitchell have written has apparently not yet been filed. They had indicated that it would be posted on Tuesday February 19th but so far, it isn’t there.But no matter what, I was told that the bill will definitely not be an unconditional bill where ALL adoptees in the state would be treated equally.Representative Feigenholtz’s bill has a disclosure veto. All past denial affidavits that have been filed with the Registry will be honored. Additionally, if this bill should pass, it contains a one year period called an “information campaign” during which a birth parent can file a non-disclosure affidavit which will be honored by the state. If one birth parent files a denial, the birth certificate might still be issued but all information about the other parent will be redacted; that is, whited out.The bill has a prospective element but that too contains provisions for birth parents to file non-disclosure affidavits.A good percentage of Illinois’ adopted adults would be able to get their original birth certificate with this proposed bill. But not ALL. The only category of adopted persons that would ALL be able to receive their original birth certificate with no restrictions would be those adoptees born before 1946.I expected the bill to have been already posted but so far it isn’t. I honestly don’t know why. I could speculate but that isn’t really productive.The last time I spoke to Representative Feigenholtz was on Sunday, Feb. 17th. I told her about the many of you who have written to her, more than once, to express your opinions but received no reply. She replied that it had something to do with the clerk’s sorting the mail. I told her straight out that she should be listening to you all.Representative Feigenholtz told me that in her experienced opinion, an unconditional access bill, such as the ones in Oregon, New Hampshire, Alabama and Maine, would NEVER pass in Illinois. She said that if she were to file a 100% unconditional access bill, it would languish and die in the Rules Committee. It would go nowhere. She told me that “it just won’t fly.” Her reason is that the politics of IL are different from these other states. Representative Feigenholtz maintains that much of the opposition comes from the Chicago Bar Association. I tried very very hard to persuade the Representative that she should be listening to adoptees, not attorneys. I tried to persuade her to go with the contact preference form that was put into place in Oregon and is in the bills of the other open states. I twice sent her the texts of the bills from each of these states plus the text of every contact preference form. I also sent her the latest statistics on how the contact preference forms are being used. I wish I had better news to report. At this point, this is all I know about what Representative Feigenholtz’s plans.Now I’ll tell you how I feel personally.I believe that “ALL” minus even one adoptee, is not ALL, and is therefore not acceptable. If true unconditional access can work so easily in these other states mentioned, then it could work in Illinois too, if people wanted to work hard to make it work. In my opinion, we’re not so different here as the Representative purports. I believe that if you are going to expend so much energy, time, talent and money into a bill that champions adoptee rights, then you don’t stop short of your goal. All adopted adults in Illinois must be treated equally under the law. I believe that we must not leave even one adoptee behind.I tried to explain to Representative Feigenholtz that a true adoptee rights bill is different than a search/reunion bill. But she doesn’t seem to get it or if she does, she doesn’t want to act on it. She always brings us back to the attorneys who are worried about their clients, (past, present and future). And that is a search/reunion issue. It is not about the human and civil right of every adopted adult to own his or her own truth.I expressed my opinions, and many more arguments, over and over and over to Representative Feigenholtz. She replied that I’m living in some “sort of dream world.” She says that I don’t live in the real world of politics. That may be true, but I still believe that my dream is better than all of the conditional plans presented - plans which still allow the state to have control over adopted adults.
Stay tuned.
Friends of IllinoisOpen
I have had some contact with Representative Sara Feigenholtz over this last weekend. The bill she and her aide Melisha Mitchell have written has apparently not yet been filed. They had indicated that it would be posted on Tuesday February 19th but so far, it isn’t there.But no matter what, I was told that the bill will definitely not be an unconditional bill where ALL adoptees in the state would be treated equally.Representative Feigenholtz’s bill has a disclosure veto. All past denial affidavits that have been filed with the Registry will be honored. Additionally, if this bill should pass, it contains a one year period called an “information campaign” during which a birth parent can file a non-disclosure affidavit which will be honored by the state. If one birth parent files a denial, the birth certificate might still be issued but all information about the other parent will be redacted; that is, whited out.The bill has a prospective element but that too contains provisions for birth parents to file non-disclosure affidavits.A good percentage of Illinois’ adopted adults would be able to get their original birth certificate with this proposed bill. But not ALL. The only category of adopted persons that would ALL be able to receive their original birth certificate with no restrictions would be those adoptees born before 1946.I expected the bill to have been already posted but so far it isn’t. I honestly don’t know why. I could speculate but that isn’t really productive.The last time I spoke to Representative Feigenholtz was on Sunday, Feb. 17th. I told her about the many of you who have written to her, more than once, to express your opinions but received no reply. She replied that it had something to do with the clerk’s sorting the mail. I told her straight out that she should be listening to you all.Representative Feigenholtz told me that in her experienced opinion, an unconditional access bill, such as the ones in Oregon, New Hampshire, Alabama and Maine, would NEVER pass in Illinois. She said that if she were to file a 100% unconditional access bill, it would languish and die in the Rules Committee. It would go nowhere. She told me that “it just won’t fly.” Her reason is that the politics of IL are different from these other states. Representative Feigenholtz maintains that much of the opposition comes from the Chicago Bar Association. I tried very very hard to persuade the Representative that she should be listening to adoptees, not attorneys. I tried to persuade her to go with the contact preference form that was put into place in Oregon and is in the bills of the other open states. I twice sent her the texts of the bills from each of these states plus the text of every contact preference form. I also sent her the latest statistics on how the contact preference forms are being used. I wish I had better news to report. At this point, this is all I know about what Representative Feigenholtz’s plans.Now I’ll tell you how I feel personally.I believe that “ALL” minus even one adoptee, is not ALL, and is therefore not acceptable. If true unconditional access can work so easily in these other states mentioned, then it could work in Illinois too, if people wanted to work hard to make it work. In my opinion, we’re not so different here as the Representative purports. I believe that if you are going to expend so much energy, time, talent and money into a bill that champions adoptee rights, then you don’t stop short of your goal. All adopted adults in Illinois must be treated equally under the law. I believe that we must not leave even one adoptee behind.I tried to explain to Representative Feigenholtz that a true adoptee rights bill is different than a search/reunion bill. But she doesn’t seem to get it or if she does, she doesn’t want to act on it. She always brings us back to the attorneys who are worried about their clients, (past, present and future). And that is a search/reunion issue. It is not about the human and civil right of every adopted adult to own his or her own truth.I expressed my opinions, and many more arguments, over and over and over to Representative Feigenholtz. She replied that I’m living in some “sort of dream world.” She says that I don’t live in the real world of politics. That may be true, but I still believe that my dream is better than all of the conditional plans presented - plans which still allow the state to have control over adopted adults.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
DEAR INDIANA LEGISLATOR,
Today I write you again. I beg and implore you to look into these issues. Its time for change. Soon this legislative year will be over. We start again in September. Only this time I hope that you will be further educated. I look forward to meeting you in New Orleans at the state legislators convention. There will be many adoptees, natural parents, adoptive parents protesting for this right. We are having an Adoptee Rights Protest while you are there. I will bring to you changes and ideas that will revitalize and change adoption as a whole.
Sadly I do bring to you the stories of adoptees, natural parents and adoptive parents. It is to us that the state must answer. Please read and learn.
I fight for adoptee access in many states. Sadly I do not think Indiana will ever change. Even though I am an Indiana adoptee, I see my state of Texas changing long before Indiana. I really do not think that the state of Indiana cares about those living adoption in Indiana. I do not mean to incite you but to help you change the laws to make them better to show that adoption needs drastic change.
Bryn Ayre, a graduate student in Indiana, met a young woman with two kids. She got pregnant. He wanted to raise his daughter. He named her Theresa. This woman jumped states. She attempted to place in Indiana but he was on the putative registry. She couldn't place without his consent. Someone connected her to Texas. He too placed himself on the Texas registry. In fact, with a group called Adoption Associates and Jennalee Ryan. They put the mother in contact with a Utah agency, American Center of Choice. They then shipped her to Utah. He also placed himself on their putative father registry. This agency has quite a reputation for violating a parent's right to raise their own child. There are two other fathers fighting this agency currently. They are Cody O'Dea and Joshua Simmerson. This agency has been banned from practice in Illinois by the Attorney General and the Governor of Illinois. Is promoting adoption so important that we forget those who want to parent their own children? Is promoting adoption so important that we forget those living adoption? Is it more important to violate a few parents rights to make sure that the status quo of adoption remains?
You have had two adoptive mothers who have killed their adopted children. One was Melanie Addington who shook and then slammed her adopted infant son against the wall. This is a child who was born in Indiana. He will forever spend the rest of his life in foster care because of the severe brain damage. Another adoptive parent, Rebecca Kyrie, killed her adoptive daughter by doing the same thing. Who are the adoption agencies involved? One agency, Bethany, is responsible for the Rebecca Kyrie adoption. Who is involved in the other adoption? It is also my understanding that there is an adoption agency individual, Jeanenne Smith who ran the Families through International Adoption. She is the one that coordinated the adoption of Masha Allen. A child that was adopted by the pedophile, Matthew Mancuso. This woman was fired before the adoption was finalized. She then started the agency, Reaching out Through International Adoption.
Then even in recent news an adoption facilitator was arrested for theft and fraud. She was sentanced to three years of prison time. How many of these kind stories must continue before the state legislators take action? How many people are hurt before you stand up and make a stand?
Then you have the adoptees who struggle within the system. I have had Senator Robert Meeks tell me in an email that we must protect birthmothers from their unwanted children. Its sad that someone from your legislature would say something so horrible to an adoptee. I am an adoptee who has used the system. I am better off struggling with finding my natural parents on my own. After I used the system that the state provides, I have discovered many things. The agencies and the state twist the laws to suit their own agendas. I have spoken with an Executive director of an adoption agency here in Texas. She admits herself that the adoption industry wants power and control over those living adoption. She tells of stories where the adoption agency takes money from the searcher. Promises contact with the searchee whether it be the adoptee or the natural parent. They never make contact. There have been issues of this in Indiana. The state legislators still turn a blind eye. The law states birth parent. The state, Mary Hinds, and the agencies assume it to mean natural mother. It doesn't state that. Because of this, I am restricted from contacting my father. A man who wanted to raise his own daughter. Just like Bryn Ayre, Cody O'Dea, Joshua Simmerson and many other fathers that I have been in contact with since starting this crucade of mine. I have an older sister from this man. The law again states birth parent. It is also interpreted to mean birth mother.
As an adoptee who has been supposedly refused contact, I fight for adoptees to have equal access to the same document that the non adopted take for granted. In Oregon, they have kept updated information on adoption since changing the laws. Low and behold, adoption has increased. Low and behold, abortion has decreased. In states with full unrestricted adoptee access, 99% of natural parents want contact. In these same states there has been NO bad reverberations. There has also been no cases of unwanted contact. We already have stalking and harassment laws in place.
Surrounding states of Indiana are currently considering legislation allowing adoptee access. It puts the heat on Indiana. Adoption is suppose to be adoptee centric. It is about the agencies and attorneys themselves. Adoptee access is about the same constitutional rights as the non adopted. Indiana is violating the adoptee's right to privacy. Indiana is currently violating the fourth amendment rights of adoptees by withholding their birth certificates on the presumption of harm. If adoption has the capability of creating harm, then the state of Indiana should explain why its in the business of adoption.
Adoption is not protected by right to privacy. No such right exists at this time. If anything, Roe vs. Wade supports our issue. The right to privacy is about the right to be free of government intrusion. This includes states. Adoption is basically a transfer of rights. Some consider it a contract. Adoptees are held bound in this contract that we had no choice. Adoptees born before 1993 are held bound by this agreement based on their birth. Indiana creates a set of second class citizens in their adoptees. Its high time that this is changed. Its up to you to change it. Its up to you to put adoptees on a level playing field.
Sincerely,
Amy K. Burt
aka Amyadoptee
aka Michellin Baby Girl
My resources:
http://indianaopen.blogspot.com/
http://colemanmomsandbabes.blogspot.com/
http://amyadoptee.blogspot.com/
http://www.adultadoptees.org/forum
http://abrazos.org/
http://adopteerights.net/nulliusfilius/
http://www.adoptiontriad.org/
http://www.koreanfocusindiana.com/
http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ADOPTION/
http://www.adoptionscams.net/
http://www.origins-usa.org/
http://www.bastards.org/
http://www.babybrokerwatch.com/
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/index.php
http://www.babybrokerwatch.com/
Sadly I do bring to you the stories of adoptees, natural parents and adoptive parents. It is to us that the state must answer. Please read and learn.
I fight for adoptee access in many states. Sadly I do not think Indiana will ever change. Even though I am an Indiana adoptee, I see my state of Texas changing long before Indiana. I really do not think that the state of Indiana cares about those living adoption in Indiana. I do not mean to incite you but to help you change the laws to make them better to show that adoption needs drastic change.
Bryn Ayre, a graduate student in Indiana, met a young woman with two kids. She got pregnant. He wanted to raise his daughter. He named her Theresa. This woman jumped states. She attempted to place in Indiana but he was on the putative registry. She couldn't place without his consent. Someone connected her to Texas. He too placed himself on the Texas registry. In fact, with a group called Adoption Associates and Jennalee Ryan. They put the mother in contact with a Utah agency, American Center of Choice. They then shipped her to Utah. He also placed himself on their putative father registry. This agency has quite a reputation for violating a parent's right to raise their own child. There are two other fathers fighting this agency currently. They are Cody O'Dea and Joshua Simmerson. This agency has been banned from practice in Illinois by the Attorney General and the Governor of Illinois. Is promoting adoption so important that we forget those who want to parent their own children? Is promoting adoption so important that we forget those living adoption? Is it more important to violate a few parents rights to make sure that the status quo of adoption remains?
You have had two adoptive mothers who have killed their adopted children. One was Melanie Addington who shook and then slammed her adopted infant son against the wall. This is a child who was born in Indiana. He will forever spend the rest of his life in foster care because of the severe brain damage. Another adoptive parent, Rebecca Kyrie, killed her adoptive daughter by doing the same thing. Who are the adoption agencies involved? One agency, Bethany, is responsible for the Rebecca Kyrie adoption. Who is involved in the other adoption? It is also my understanding that there is an adoption agency individual, Jeanenne Smith who ran the Families through International Adoption. She is the one that coordinated the adoption of Masha Allen. A child that was adopted by the pedophile, Matthew Mancuso. This woman was fired before the adoption was finalized. She then started the agency, Reaching out Through International Adoption.
Then even in recent news an adoption facilitator was arrested for theft and fraud. She was sentanced to three years of prison time. How many of these kind stories must continue before the state legislators take action? How many people are hurt before you stand up and make a stand?
Then you have the adoptees who struggle within the system. I have had Senator Robert Meeks tell me in an email that we must protect birthmothers from their unwanted children. Its sad that someone from your legislature would say something so horrible to an adoptee. I am an adoptee who has used the system. I am better off struggling with finding my natural parents on my own. After I used the system that the state provides, I have discovered many things. The agencies and the state twist the laws to suit their own agendas. I have spoken with an Executive director of an adoption agency here in Texas. She admits herself that the adoption industry wants power and control over those living adoption. She tells of stories where the adoption agency takes money from the searcher. Promises contact with the searchee whether it be the adoptee or the natural parent. They never make contact. There have been issues of this in Indiana. The state legislators still turn a blind eye. The law states birth parent. The state, Mary Hinds, and the agencies assume it to mean natural mother. It doesn't state that. Because of this, I am restricted from contacting my father. A man who wanted to raise his own daughter. Just like Bryn Ayre, Cody O'Dea, Joshua Simmerson and many other fathers that I have been in contact with since starting this crucade of mine. I have an older sister from this man. The law again states birth parent. It is also interpreted to mean birth mother.
As an adoptee who has been supposedly refused contact, I fight for adoptees to have equal access to the same document that the non adopted take for granted. In Oregon, they have kept updated information on adoption since changing the laws. Low and behold, adoption has increased. Low and behold, abortion has decreased. In states with full unrestricted adoptee access, 99% of natural parents want contact. In these same states there has been NO bad reverberations. There has also been no cases of unwanted contact. We already have stalking and harassment laws in place.
Surrounding states of Indiana are currently considering legislation allowing adoptee access. It puts the heat on Indiana. Adoption is suppose to be adoptee centric. It is about the agencies and attorneys themselves. Adoptee access is about the same constitutional rights as the non adopted. Indiana is violating the adoptee's right to privacy. Indiana is currently violating the fourth amendment rights of adoptees by withholding their birth certificates on the presumption of harm. If adoption has the capability of creating harm, then the state of Indiana should explain why its in the business of adoption.
Adoption is not protected by right to privacy. No such right exists at this time. If anything, Roe vs. Wade supports our issue. The right to privacy is about the right to be free of government intrusion. This includes states. Adoption is basically a transfer of rights. Some consider it a contract. Adoptees are held bound in this contract that we had no choice. Adoptees born before 1993 are held bound by this agreement based on their birth. Indiana creates a set of second class citizens in their adoptees. Its high time that this is changed. Its up to you to change it. Its up to you to put adoptees on a level playing field.
Sincerely,
Amy K. Burt
aka Amyadoptee
aka Michellin Baby Girl
My resources:
http://indianaopen.blogspot.com/
http://colemanmomsandbabes.blogspot.com/
http://amyadoptee.blogspot.com/
http://www.adultadoptees.org/forum
http://abrazos.org/
http://adopteerights.net/nulliusfilius/
http://www.adoptiontriad.org/
http://www.koreanfocusindiana.com/
http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ADOPTION/
http://www.adoptionscams.net/
http://www.origins-usa.org/
http://www.bastards.org/
http://www.babybrokerwatch.com/
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/index.php
http://www.babybrokerwatch.com/
Sunday, February 3, 2008
ADOPTION SCAMS ABOUND IN INDIANA
Woman sentenced for adoption scam.
BLOOMINGTON, IN
A judge sentenced a woman to three years in prison for a child adoption scam he called one of the "cruelest crimes" he's seen in 20 years on the bench.
Before sentencing Diana Groves on Friday, Greene County Circuit Court Judge David Holt read portions of letters written by her victims in which they described their pain.
"Diana ripped our hearts out," one victim wrote. "She stole our hopes. She stole our dreams."
Last month, Groves pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to dismiss a habitual offender charge. The plea agreement left her sentencing to the discretion of the judge.
Groves was arrested by the FBI in April 2007 following a three-month investigation.
She was accused of falsely telling several different couples that she was working with a pregnant teen who wanted to give her child up for adoption.
Groves then asked the hopeful couples for money to help with the teen's expenses. Previously, prosecutors said she bilked her victims out of a total of about $15,000.
At the time of her arrest, she was serving a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a felony charge of neglect of a dependent.
Groves' attorney, Fred Turner, called two of the defendant's children to the stand. Both daughters asked that their mother be released so she could continue to be a part of their lives and be evaluated for a possible mental health issue.
During her testimony, Laura Groves sobbed as she asked the court to let her mother come home. Groves said her mother needed therapy, not jail time.
"It's not benefiting her," she said. "She needs to be home with her kids."
Groves also addressed the court. She apologized to her victims and asked Holt for probation.
Turner argued that Groves had admitted her guilt, saving the victims from having to testify in court. He also said she'd also given a "heartfelt" apology.
Holt agreed that Groves had accepted "some degree" of responsibility. He sentenced Groves to three years for each of the seven counts to be served concurrently. She was also fined $100 for each count.
"I feel you need to be held accountable for what you did," Holt told Groves.
Groves indicated she would appeal the sentence. She was declared indigent, so Holt appointed a public defender, but asked Turner to continue to work with Groves until her new attorney can take over.
It happens everyday in every state. The states themselves need to hold these kind of folks to a higher standard. When will it get done?
BLOOMINGTON, IN
A judge sentenced a woman to three years in prison for a child adoption scam he called one of the "cruelest crimes" he's seen in 20 years on the bench.
Before sentencing Diana Groves on Friday, Greene County Circuit Court Judge David Holt read portions of letters written by her victims in which they described their pain.
"Diana ripped our hearts out," one victim wrote. "She stole our hopes. She stole our dreams."
Last month, Groves pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to dismiss a habitual offender charge. The plea agreement left her sentencing to the discretion of the judge.
Groves was arrested by the FBI in April 2007 following a three-month investigation.
She was accused of falsely telling several different couples that she was working with a pregnant teen who wanted to give her child up for adoption.
Groves then asked the hopeful couples for money to help with the teen's expenses. Previously, prosecutors said she bilked her victims out of a total of about $15,000.
At the time of her arrest, she was serving a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a felony charge of neglect of a dependent.
Groves' attorney, Fred Turner, called two of the defendant's children to the stand. Both daughters asked that their mother be released so she could continue to be a part of their lives and be evaluated for a possible mental health issue.
During her testimony, Laura Groves sobbed as she asked the court to let her mother come home. Groves said her mother needed therapy, not jail time.
"It's not benefiting her," she said. "She needs to be home with her kids."
Groves also addressed the court. She apologized to her victims and asked Holt for probation.
Turner argued that Groves had admitted her guilt, saving the victims from having to testify in court. He also said she'd also given a "heartfelt" apology.
Holt agreed that Groves had accepted "some degree" of responsibility. He sentenced Groves to three years for each of the seven counts to be served concurrently. She was also fined $100 for each count.
"I feel you need to be held accountable for what you did," Holt told Groves.
Groves indicated she would appeal the sentence. She was declared indigent, so Holt appointed a public defender, but asked Turner to continue to work with Groves until her new attorney can take over.
It happens everyday in every state. The states themselves need to hold these kind of folks to a higher standard. When will it get done?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
SOME INTERESTING BILLS IN INDIANA
I promise you this. You will be laughing at the end of this post especially if you are a snarky bastard such as myself.
First thing is this. Indiana is introducing a new bill. It makes it a Class D felony to alter or mutilate a birth certificate. Seriously folks what does Indiana do when they change our birth certificates. Is not the same thing? They are changing the original birth certificate to a new one which has the adoptive parents name on it. Will they hold themselves accountable for altering the original birth certificates of adoptees? I was not born to my adoptive mother. Why can't we have an adoption certificate? Something that includes the natural parents, their name that they gave their child. The adoptive name of the child and then the adoptive parents names. It then gives all the information of the birth situation. Why are we hiding? If the laws currently support the thought that adoption causes harm, why are we continuing the practice of it.
The bill is HB 1113. Representative Dembowski presented it. Representative Noe is the coauthor of this bill. It states this:
Birth certificate fraud. Increases from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony the penalty for: (1) making a false or fraudulent statement when applying for a birth certificate or when applying for permission to inspect birth records; (2) altering, counterfeiting, or mutilating a certified copy of a birth certificate; or (3) using an altered, counterfeit, or mutilated copy of a birth certificate
On to the next odd bill, this concerns the adoption of abandoned embryos, HB 1075.
It states:
Abandoned embryo adoption. Allows an abandoned embryo to be adopted for implantation by another individual under specified circumstances. States that a person who knowingly or intentionally destroys or discards an abandoned human embryo commits unlawful destruction of an embryo, a Class A misdemeanor.
Then there is this bill. This one basically bans the discrimination on the basis of ancestry. That is what they are doing to us. This one has been going through the legislation for a second year in a row. So time will tell on this one. I thought it passed last year.
Here is HB 1358. It reads:
Civil rights. Extends antidiscrimination and civil rights statutes to include prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and ancestry.
This one is in the Senate. It is even more interesting. It is the SB 0217. It makes human and sex trafficking illegal in the state of Indiana. Isn't that what adoption is today? It seems like it to me. They violated the natural parents rights and adoptee rights on a daily basis.
It reads:
Human and sexual trafficking. Allows a court to order the: (1) dissolution or reorganization of; or (2) suspension, revocation, or forfeiture of a license, permit, charter, or prior approval granted by an agency of the state to; a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, or an unincorporated association if an agent of the corporation, company, partnership, or association commits a human or sexual trafficking offense while acting within the scope of the agent's authority. Provides that it is a defense that a person who engaged in criminal conduct did so because the person was a victim of a human or sexual trafficking offense. Makes it promotion of human trafficking, a Class B felony, for a person to recruit, harbor, or transport another person by force, threat of force, or fraud to force the other person into appearing in a state of nudity or engaging in or participating in an obscene performance or a performance that is harmful to minors. Makes it human trafficking, a Class C felony, for a person to pay, offer to pay, or agree to pay money or other property to another person for an individual whom the person knows has been forced into appearing in a state of nudity or engaging in or participating in an obscene performance or a performance that is harmful to minors. Makes it promoting prostitution, a Class C felony, for a person to sell or offer to sell travel services that include or facilitate travel for the purpose of patronizing a prostitute in Indiana or another jurisdiction. Requires an international matchmaking organization to provide a copy of a client's criminal history information and marital history declaration and certain other information to a recruit of the organization in the recruit's native language and English.
Just some bills in the state of Indiana to keep an eye on.
First thing is this. Indiana is introducing a new bill. It makes it a Class D felony to alter or mutilate a birth certificate. Seriously folks what does Indiana do when they change our birth certificates. Is not the same thing? They are changing the original birth certificate to a new one which has the adoptive parents name on it. Will they hold themselves accountable for altering the original birth certificates of adoptees? I was not born to my adoptive mother. Why can't we have an adoption certificate? Something that includes the natural parents, their name that they gave their child. The adoptive name of the child and then the adoptive parents names. It then gives all the information of the birth situation. Why are we hiding? If the laws currently support the thought that adoption causes harm, why are we continuing the practice of it.
The bill is HB 1113. Representative Dembowski presented it. Representative Noe is the coauthor of this bill. It states this:
Birth certificate fraud. Increases from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony the penalty for: (1) making a false or fraudulent statement when applying for a birth certificate or when applying for permission to inspect birth records; (2) altering, counterfeiting, or mutilating a certified copy of a birth certificate; or (3) using an altered, counterfeit, or mutilated copy of a birth certificate
On to the next odd bill, this concerns the adoption of abandoned embryos, HB 1075.
It states:
Abandoned embryo adoption. Allows an abandoned embryo to be adopted for implantation by another individual under specified circumstances. States that a person who knowingly or intentionally destroys or discards an abandoned human embryo commits unlawful destruction of an embryo, a Class A misdemeanor.
Then there is this bill. This one basically bans the discrimination on the basis of ancestry. That is what they are doing to us. This one has been going through the legislation for a second year in a row. So time will tell on this one. I thought it passed last year.
Here is HB 1358. It reads:
Civil rights. Extends antidiscrimination and civil rights statutes to include prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and ancestry.
This one is in the Senate. It is even more interesting. It is the SB 0217. It makes human and sex trafficking illegal in the state of Indiana. Isn't that what adoption is today? It seems like it to me. They violated the natural parents rights and adoptee rights on a daily basis.
It reads:
Human and sexual trafficking. Allows a court to order the: (1) dissolution or reorganization of; or (2) suspension, revocation, or forfeiture of a license, permit, charter, or prior approval granted by an agency of the state to; a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, or an unincorporated association if an agent of the corporation, company, partnership, or association commits a human or sexual trafficking offense while acting within the scope of the agent's authority. Provides that it is a defense that a person who engaged in criminal conduct did so because the person was a victim of a human or sexual trafficking offense. Makes it promotion of human trafficking, a Class B felony, for a person to recruit, harbor, or transport another person by force, threat of force, or fraud to force the other person into appearing in a state of nudity or engaging in or participating in an obscene performance or a performance that is harmful to minors. Makes it human trafficking, a Class C felony, for a person to pay, offer to pay, or agree to pay money or other property to another person for an individual whom the person knows has been forced into appearing in a state of nudity or engaging in or participating in an obscene performance or a performance that is harmful to minors. Makes it promoting prostitution, a Class C felony, for a person to sell or offer to sell travel services that include or facilitate travel for the purpose of patronizing a prostitute in Indiana or another jurisdiction. Requires an international matchmaking organization to provide a copy of a client's criminal history information and marital history declaration and certain other information to a recruit of the organization in the recruit's native language and English.
Just some bills in the state of Indiana to keep an eye on.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
THE CRUNCH IS ON
Adoptees in Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois will all have bills being presented in their states for allowing adoptees access to their original birth certificates. Isn't time for adoptees in Indiana to demand the same? We have the statistics to back us up. We have the research to back us up.
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