A newspaper in Indiana is fighting to open adoption records in Indiana in a specific adoption case. A law is currently being considered in the state as well to make it a misdemeanor to accept anything of value for arranging surrogate births in the state.

The Indianapolis Star on Thursday filed a petition to open records in the case, which is pitting Indiana's adoption secrecy law against the public's right to know how the courts do business.

Their efforts to open adoption records in Indiana is detailed in this... more

Grab your tissues, this letter from Baby Boy #3331 to his birth mother may bring on the tears. Some reunion stories appeal more to birth parents, however, this story has aspects that I believe will touch adoptive parents as well. There are several extremely touching and heartbreaking parts to this story. For starters, the original adoption agreement states that if the adopting wish decide that they do not want "to make this child legally our own, baby boy #3331 may be returned."... more

Iowa Governor Vilsack is dropping out of the Presidential race. It's too bad that he has decided not to run. Although I know little about his political views, I figured his campaigning would help bring some attention to adoption search and reunion. Certainly the subject needs attention in my view.

If you recall, Governor Vilsack is an adoptee and recently received a letter from a nun who used to work at the unwed mothers home where his birth mom spent some time. She told him that information... more

WGBH and Spy Pond Productions is seeking people to be involved with a 90-minute PBS documentary and a website called Adoption Families. The project will explore many sides of adoption, including: open adoption, international adoption, adoption through the foster care system, and people’s quest to learn their background. Built around intimate stories of adoptive families, they will create a high-profile television program for national broadcast. The film will center on approximately five families, or individuals, whose situations and experiences reflect... more

Mr. Harrison had been thinking about getting in touch since reading in an article in The New York Times 15 months ago that two teenagers whose mothers had used his sperm to conceive were looking for him.

Since there is not much etiquette to refer to for sperm donors, this man arbitrarily picked Valentine's Day to announce himself whose mothers had used his sperm to conceive. Hmmm, I do not quite know what to think of that! Apparently, he did announce himself to children that he already knew wanted to know his identity.

The... more

I am in favor of adoptive parents having full information on their child's birth parents. Most birth mothers I know would have gladly given their names to the adoptive parents in case their child ever wanted or needed the information. In private closed adoptions, birth parents sometimes receive the names of adoptive parents as well. The adoptive dad in this story said:

What if someone in my class checks CCAP and finds out they have a half brother or half sister they didn't even know about? It could be devastating for a family. These... more

The article that I am going to discuss appeared on the BBC news website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6279061.stm. The article is titled Mother Wins Dead Son’s Sperm Case. This is basically allowing a family line to continue after the death of a male.

I think this article peaked my interest because of the family rights side of it but it involve family lines but the deceased is a soldier who was killed in the Gas Strip in 2002.

A couple had hired a lawyer... more

The announcement of Hillary Rodham Clinton this weekend running for President has sparked my interest once again in the election and those who are campaigning interests in adoption and adoption records.

An article at http://edition.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/03/17/hillary.adopt/index.html dated March 17, 2000 quotes the first lady is quoted saying “There was a time, when adoptive parents were selected on the basis of their wealth and material possessions.... more

Some of you may be following the recovery of the two kidnapped boys in St. Louis, MO area. I was reading an article on line at http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/14/boys.found.ap/index.html and through the article learned of an adoption connection.

The article states “Devlin's childhood neighbors told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Devlin was adopted and one of six children. Sarah Sullivan described him as a quiet child in an otherwise outgoing family. He was always big for his... more

A quote from ABC News reporter Jeff Wilson, Associated Press 2006, regarding his adoptee status follows.

He was born Leslie King on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Neb. His parents were divorced when he was less than a year old, and his mother returned to her parents in Grand Rapids, where she later married Gerald R. Ford Sr. He adopted the boy and renamed him.

Ford was a high school senior when he met his biological father. He was working in a Greek restaurant, he recalled, when a man came in and stood watching.

"Finally, he walked over and... more