Is this censorship?

In planning for the “Shedding the Light” conference that was held September 15-16th at Fordham University in New York City, it seems that Betty Jean Lifton was disinvited to speak as the keynote speaker due to her not agreeing to avoid the use of the words “birth mother” as directed by the organizers. Birth mother is a commonly accepted term but apparently the organizations organizing the conference feel it is demoralizing, and marginalizing a mother to the role of a vessel. These two organizations, Adoption Crossroads, and OriginsUSA do not advocate its use, preferring “first mother” and other terms.

For those of you who don’t know, Betty Jean Lifton, Ph.D. is a renowned adoptee rights activist, author of Twice Born: Memoirs of an Adoption Daughter, Journey of the Adopted Self: A Quest for Wholeness and Lost and Found: The Adoption Experience. Betty Jean is also a therapist.

Below is a correspondence amongst the conference organizers intertwined with my own personal comments and thoughts. This correspondence was reproduced from the Daily Bastardett. To read a different view point you can visit the blog at http://bastardette.blogspot.com/2006/09/bj-lifton-booted-from-adoption.html. There are approximately 150 comments debating the terms and if you can get past the personal attacks and pettiness there are some excellent points made.

The first is an email sent out to all conference presenters that Betty Jean Lifton received dated August 21: "Dear Presenter: Just a reminder that it would be a kindness to use the term "Mother" or "First Mother" as opposed to the 'birth" prefix. (An increasing number of mothers of adoption loss experience these prefixes as oppressive.) Thank you! See you soon, Joe"

At the 11th hour, presenters were told it would be a "kindness" not to use a word that, Dr. Lifton's case, is a part of her body of work. Isn’t this a manipulative way of asking people to censor their language?

Subsequent public communiqués reveal that the above email was the first Betty Jean Lifton had heard of the “language requirements.” She has known Joe Soll, the founder of Adoption Croosroads for decades, and says when she accepted the invitation to speak at the conference she was not told of the special language requirements. If she had been informed, she would have turned down the invitation.