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An Important Announcement from Bastard Nation

According to the Daily Bastardette, Bastard Nation has issued an important statement on the status of Haitian orphans entering the United States. Indiana Open as well as Texans for Adult Adoptees OBC Access supports their efforts in making sure that these children are protected.

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For the last week, Bastard Nation, like the rest of the world, has been watching the devastation of Haiti. The images are frightening, sad, and heartrending, especially those of the children.

We have also watched with alarm the rush to rescue Haitian children by adoption. Within three days of the earthquake, Catholic Charities of Miami had set up a scheme modeled on Operation Pedro Pan, a joint State Department-CIA-Miami Diocese project in the early 1960s to separate children from their parents, creating young pawns in the US war against the Castro government. Although “Operation Pierre Pan” in Haiti is on hold, at least for now, numerous evangelical churches and ministries, adoption agencies, secular organizations, unfinalized adoptive parents and other individuals--many with conflicts of interest--have joined the rescue mission call to remove children immediately, no matter what their family status, to the US for the purpose of adoption.

Haiti is still under rubble. Aid is slow to arrive. Survivors are spread out in shelters and camps, or live in the streets. The dead are unnumbered, unknown, and unnamed. Family members continue to search for each for other, and it will take weeks or even months for final conciliation.

The rush to relocate orphans, quasi-orphans, and potential orphans internationally is ripe for coercion and fraud. Adoption agencies, church agencies, and ministries especially--along with fraudulent and predatory “child welfare” agents--have much to gain from fast removal. The trafficking of Haitian children for sex, servitude, and adoption operated in Haiti before the quake. It certainly operates now. The unethical and possibly unlawful mass transfer of traumatized children, many with family status unknown, to foreign shelters, foster care, and adoption agencies, removed from their culture and language, with little hope of family reunification cannot be allowed or tolerated. We urge US State Department and other US authorities in Haiti to (1) remove private special interests and those with conflicts of interest, such as adoption agencies and ministries, from the child welfare decision-making process and (2) halt the evacuation of children and their placement for adoption in the US.
We also urge the State Department to suspend pending adoptions. Haitian paperwork is lost or destroyed. Rock Cadet, the judge most responsible and knowledgeable about pipeline cases, died in the quake. Though the US Embassy survived, US paperwork is probably unavailable for some time, if it still exists. Without proof of Haitian court or Embassy status, any adoption removal from the country, without thorough background investigation and due process, is illegal and not in the best interest of the child

Needless to say, no new adoptions should be processed.

In the post-quake chaos, children need protection from predatory snatchers. Bastard Nation, therefore, supports the expedited removal of Haitian children, orphans or otherwise, to credible and documented parents or family members in the US for temporary or permanent placement depending on the circumstances. These children must not be assumed adoptable and scooped up for fast-track adoption. They should be a top priority. We urge the State Department or other government or credible private and disinterested agencies to assist Haitians in the US to locate child kin and bring them to the US.
We understand why people want to open their arms and hearts to the children of the Haitian earthquake, but adoption is not emergency or humanitarian aid or a solution to Haiti’s ongoing problems. The immediate rescue effort in Haiti should focus on emergency services, individual and family care and family reunification, not family, community, and cultural destruction and the strip-mining of children.


This statement has been faxed to the US State Department.

The Demons In Adoption Award Winner

Have you seen this year's winner for the Demon in Adoption Awards? Its Bethany Christian Services. I personally believe that it is a well deserved reward.

According to the article:

Anti-abortion pregnancy counseling centers have been a growing phenomenon since their invention in the early 1970's and are one of the main suppliers of infants for the adoption industry. With more than 1100 anti-abortion pregnancy counseling centers, Heartbeat International is one of the largest supply chains of infants. Three out of the five aforementioned, Angel in Adoption receiving centers, is an affiliate of Heartbeat International, and so is the subject of this article, Bethany Christian Services.

Of course they also did the Sixteen and Pregnant on MTV recently as well where they showed an exchange happening on the street corner. I have heard repeated stories where they coerce women out of their children. They make false promises of open adoptions. They let the openness in those adoptions fail.

Congratulations for being the Demon in Adoption.

Lately

Lately I have been concentrating on other issues besides adoption. I know! I know! Adoption encompasses many things besides the topic itself. Adoption also involves women's health issues, children's issues, reproductive choice (abortion vs. adoption), and so much more. Adoption is such a hot button issue as a result of all of these other issues.

I write five different blogs. It is sometimes difficult to keep up with all of them. I tend to concentrate on the sites that make me money so that I can continue to support adoptees and their families in our online community.

I have been very interested in the health care reform issue. I honestly believe that if women had access to decent health care that we would not have the problems that we have with abortion and adoption. I think that universal health care will reduce these numbers. That is something that I would like to see done.

Adoptees are often blamed for increases in abortion when the true reality according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute and others is that women abort because they just do not have the money to support a child. I quote this directly from their site:

Most U.S. women cite more than one factor contributing to their decision to have an abortion: Almost three-quarters say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about three-quarters say they cannot afford to have a child; and almost half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.

Adoptees have enough to deal with at times without the added responsibility for the future reproductive choices of women in the United States. Adoptees are often told to be grateful that they were not aborted. That is one of the most horrible things to say to any adoptee.

It amazes me that many in the pro-life movement and pro-choice movement ignore these valuable bits of information. I have to give credit to the pro-choice movement. They are starting to recognize the coercive tactics that are often used on pregnant women in this country. It is also dependent on which state but the pro-life movement is starting to do the same. The difference between the two is that the pro-life movement is still very dependent on crisis pregnancy centers across this country. The adoption industry is heavily connected to these centers as well. Bethany Christian Services is the worst culprit.

The adoption industry is a massive multi-billion dollar business that is unregulated. There are attempts to regulate it but they are just band-aids in reality. Adoption needs a massive overhaul so that all parties are protected. Birth mothers are being coerced out of their children. Adoptees are denied access to their original birth certificates. Adoptive parents are being scammed out of their funds and their dream. We have to make changes to the system.

There is no doubt that it will be a painful process in order to change things. It is a process that we all need to go through.

Demons In Adoption

For those who have not voted yet, there is still time for you to vote on Pound Pup Legacy for the Demons in Adoption Awards. The list is mighty impressive as it is every year. You can vote here today. My favorite is LDS Family Services for what they have done to a family here in my local.

Each year Pound Pup Legacy presents the Demons of Adoption Award to raise a voice against adoption propaganda and the self congratulatory practices of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's annual Angels in Adoption Awards^TM

Until October 30 you will have the opportunity to vote for the recipient of this year's award.

The nominees are:

• Adoptions First for offering of a free birth mothers package;
• Athanasios Kollias aka Teo for the involvement in various Guatemalan child trafficking cases;
• Barnardos for promoting the removal of children and have them adopted as the solution to family breakdown;
• Bethany Christian Services for using coercive tactics obtaining infants for their customers;
• Deborra-Lee Furness for pushing laxer regulations in inter-country adoption;
• Harry and Bertha Holt for starting the placement of "special needs children" who are truly not adoptable, into the homes of already huge families;
• Independent Adoption Center for plugging their business on WE tv's Adoption Diaries, making them the non-denominational Bethany;
• Joint Council on International Children's Services for supporting temporary movement of foreign children to America because such trial-basis "exchange" programs "help" the adoption process;
• LDS Family Services for using coercive tactics in obtaining infants for adoption and for not respecting paternal rights;
• Scott and Karen Banks for child trafficking, coercive adoption practices and the abandonment of their adopted children;
• The Dutch Ministry of Justice for preventing research into corrupt adoption practices in China, because of diplomatic and business relations with that country;
• The Malawi Government for allowing Madonna to adopt Mercy James;

Adoptee Rights Demonstration: From Nola To Philly!

Here is the latest video from the Adoptee Rights Demonstration. Next year they are coming to our state. Yep Indiana Folks stand up and pay attention. They are coming to Louisville. Our turf! We can do this. We can make it bigger than Philly and New Orleans combined. Are you excited? You should be. I know that I am. I will be there on my home turf.

Here is another way to help the ARD to raise funds.

Listen up! We need EVERYONE'S help to spread the word about the Adoptee Rights Demonstration, and maybe even help the protest win $200 to go towards expenses for next year's rally!

There's a slide show up on Youtube with pictures from the protests in New Orleans and Philadelphia. The link is:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4DQ5iDDEuA



We need EVERYONE to do these three things at the link above:



1.) Rate the video

2.) Add it to your favorites

3.) Leave a comment

Doing these three things all count as 'votes' at Youtube. With enough votes, we'll be pushed to the front of the Nonprofits and Activism page, which will raise awareness about the protest and our issue.



Done? OK next steps!!



Head on over to AdoptionVoices.com and repeat the steps above

http://adoptionvoices.com/video/from-nola-to-philly-the


1.) Rate the video

2.) Add it to your favorites

3.) Leave a comment

These three items all count as votes there as well.

AdoptionVoices is having a contest, and the video with the most votes will win $200. This would be a HUGE help to the protest, as our permit expenses for Louisville will be much higher than at protest-friendly Philadelphia.

Please help!

Thank you!