It’s Christmas Day 2023. While millions of Michiganders are celebrating this joyous occasion, there are still tens of thousands of Michigan-born adoptees on this day who may not be able to enjoy this family-themed holiday because they are denied basic legal rights to know who they are, from where they come, and have access to their vital records by state law. That is why I’m asking you, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, to spread the joy of this festive day to support legal equality for those denied basic rights and support two bills in 2024 (House Bills 5148 and 5149) that would give countless thousands of Michigan adoptees the basic knowledge of themselves, so that they too can feel fellowship that you are enjoying this day with your family and that countless other Michiganders are celebrating as well. Please support House Bills 5148 and 5149 in 2024 and make Christmas Day 2024 a more heartfelt and joyous time for those who still do not know their truth, their family origins and kin, and their identities because of archaic laws. Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Tag Archives: Gretchen Whitmer
Dear Governor Whitmer, signed Michigan-born adoptee
The year is 2023. Each passing day means another day that uncounted and likely tens of thousands of adoptees separated from their families by the adoption system and current state laws are denied equal treatment by law and knowledge of their vital records.
Many in my era are now old enough to have died already from chronic disease and other health issues as we age into our older years.
That means the birth mothers of this large cohort or post-World War II era adoptees are more likely to have died or may be close to the end. This is an issue that impacts my own family personally, and I am still amazed at the lifelong, permanent harm created by secrecy and family separation.
This year, I continue to focus my advocacy for decades-overdue legislative reform on the only person who counts for ultimately moving a piece of legislation through a Democrat-controlled state legislature. That person is Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.
My “Dear Governor” video may not ever be seen by Gov. Whitmer, or even her staff. But that is the work of other adoptees and maybe even a journalist or two to share it. On April 29, 2023, I posted this video and this message:
“The time is now, Gov. Whitmer. Thousands and thousands of Michigan-born adoptees, including me, are denied access to the original vital records by law—only because we were relinquished from our kin by adoption. Let’s change that and start the new chapter now. You can contact me any time, and I’d be happy to give you a copy of my book why legal reform is long overdue and why it’s time to right historic wrongs to people born in my birth state. For more information about Michigan’s outdated adoption secrecy laws and the need for reform, please visit the website for my book on the U.S. adoption experience and my experience seeking reform and justice in accessing records that are mine as a legal and human right. Go to: www.howluckyuare.com.”
Some of my fellow Michigan-born adoptees have shared this already, and I appreciate that. Thank you for what you are doing!
Focus on equality and nothing but equality:
The only reform that I will champion is reform that restores permanent, legal access to an adoptee’s original birth record without any obstruction and interference upon an adopted person reaching adulthood. I hope all adoptees in Michigan working toward a shared vision of legal reform will not partner with any person or organization who is not able to commit to this goal in writing and publicly. Remember, if folks don’t commit to clear communications, it’s best to take a pass and work with those who do. Serious people are clear. Hucksters spin yarns and evade. (Click on this link focusing on adoptee rights to hear a 15-minute version of a yarn promoting bad reform, rebutted by 15 minutes correcting the misinformation with facts).
In the world of adoptee rights advocacy, there are those who champion true reform and those who promote bad policy, similar to the incredibly regressive and harmful bill in California this spring—AB 1302, opposed nationally by nearly all leading adoptee rights groups.
So, unless someone who is an advocate can step forward clearly and publicly, with a published statement that can be read by everyone regarding their position statements, they are not being serious and can be discounted as not being true adoptee rights advocates.
Mark Twain, philosopher of the art of lying
Mark Twain got this part right about the hucksters and lying, long ago. “Among other common lies, we have the silent lie—the deception which one conveys by simply keeping still and concealing the truth. Many obstinate truth-mongers indulge in this dissipation, imagining that if they speak no lie, they lie not at all.”
I urge anyone in Michigan who shares a goal for lasting reform not work any group or persons claimed to be adoptee rights advocates who are not honest, clear, and public where they stand. In the spirit of full disclosure, my views on this topic are clear, and you can find them on my website and in my book, You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are.