Hearing Ohio Adoption Bill March 13

OHIO Equal Access Call To Action: Adoptees/Birthparents Please Attend Bill HB 61 Hearing March 13, 2013

/ V.L. Brunskill / 2 Comments

The HB 61 Adoption Bill will be discussed on March 13, 2013, and the group ROAR  (Restore Ohio Adoptee Rights) 2013 needs your help!

Currently, only adoptees born prior to 1964 and after 1996 have access to their birth records.  The bill would allow access for those born in the missing years.

Below is the update and call to action from the ROAR 2013 site.

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Update #9 POSSIBLE COMMITTEE VOTE ON HB 61! WE NEED YOU AT THE NEXT HEARING!

IN THIS UPDATE

POSSIBLE COMMITTEE VOTE ON HB 61! WE NEED YOU AT THE NEXT HEARING!

The next House Judiciary Committee hearing for HB 61 is now scheduled for Wednesday, March 13th at 3pm. A summary of the last hearing is available below. There is a strong possibility that the committee may vote on the bill on March 13th, so it is IMPERATIVE that all proponents attend this hearing- especially adoptees and birthparents! Because there are several other bills being discussed at this hearing, we have been asked by the committee to limit proponent testimony to 4-5 people for March 13th.

Four adult adoptees delivered fantastic testimony on 3/6, but the committee has yet to hear from birthparents. Currently, the action plan is for Betsie Norris of Adoption Network Cleveland, Kate Livingston of Ohio Birthparent Group and three birthparents (each having placed a child in a different decade of Ohio’s closed adoption record period) to testify on 3/13. We hope to have ALL birthparents in attendance stand behind the podium in solidarity with those three birthparents who will be testifying.

 

ACTION ALERT: THINGS YOU CAN DO

  1. Submit Your Written Testimony: Anyone can submit written testimony regardless of whether or not they deliver oral testimony at a hearing. This may be your last chance to submit your written testimony for HB 61. Please email your written testimony by noon on Tuesday, March 12th to:  Jeff.Dillon@ohiohouse.gov
  2. Attend the March 13th Hearing! We need as many people as possible to be at this hearing. The committee could vote on the bill during this hearing, so it is critical that we have as many proponents as possible in the room. If there was ever a date to be there – this is it.
  3. Birthparents Stand Together- Attend the hearing and stand in solidarity at the podium with the three birthparents who will be testifying.
  4. Continue to let your legislator know that you want them to support these bills. To find your legislator, go to: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us

To learn more about ROAR and HB 61, visit their site.

Blessings for Equal Access in Ohio!
Vicki-lynn