Here's Stephanie B's letter sent in response to the article published in the San Francisco Examiner titled: "Fight Over Adoption Secrecy"!
Stephanie wrote:
Thank you for your one-sided view on Open Records for Adoptees. I, as an adoptee, am tired of being told I should be thankful. You know the "hype" about NON-IDENTIFYING INFORMATION? While your story about "C" probably had some worth to your statements,
reality needs to be realized. I know in my heart that my birth mother thinks of me often. A birth certificate does not guarantee that I will find my mother. Our society needs to wake up to the times. And as God is by me when I write this,
Stephanie L. Blinkhorn
I am am adoptee. Actually, I am one of the "angry" children you spoke of.
I am white, Catholic, 29, a professional and a mother.
I am searching for
my birth parents too.
I am, because I want to know my identity, and to have my
medical history.
Maybe I am searching for something more.
But my
Birth Record is something I thought the Constitution guaranteed me.
How a person, a congretation of lawmakers, can take that from me is truly
unheard of.
Thankful that I do not have medical history for my 4 year old, or a nationality for her.
Thankful that every time I go to my doctor I cannot
complete the medical history forms for her
or me to help with general
procedures and exams.
In the real
world, NON ID DOES NOT EXIST. Lies exist within my files.
Lies that came
from the grey market Doctor that handled my adoption.
As I was exchanged
in a parking lot.
Not through a beautiful orphanage with nuns wiping my
tears.
The real problem is not the child wanting to
know her father,
it is that "C" came upon a situation that was not of the
norm.
Quite a sad situation. But this situation ocurred whether or not C
kept her child or not.
Your basis for "C"s story does not relate to
adoption. It relates to the world of rape.
You are disservicing adoptees who are searching for an identity with a
natural need to know their heredity.
And you are disservicing birth mothers
who were TOLD they HAD TO GIVE THEIR BABY UP.
Those who had no choice.
Those who are looking for the child they lost, with no legal rights to do
so.
They are legally not allowed to look for their own child.
It takes a
brave woman to surrender their child, but an even braver one to search.
And reunions, positive and healthy reunions happen daily.
Ever watch
television?
This is not about shame, or hiding from the past. This is about the
truth.
Your commentary is about running from the past.
Does that fix the
past? I think not.
While I do
not know what my memory holds for her,
I know she carried me within her for
9 months.
I know I am a part of her whether I find her or not.
BUT, no
one should deny me access to who I am, by denying me a birth certificate
with a name.
But if
I do, it is her choice.
But maybe I will walk away knowing that I need to
have cancer screening at age 30.
Maybe I will live to see my daughter grow
and have children of her own
that will be able to complete their own
medical history.
Maybe you can open your mind
as to what adoptees really are looking for,
and that is the truth, not lies
and a mask in their own identity.
I will continue to pray that
mankind will see this one day for what it really is.
Until then, thank you
for your time.
steph@hfsmc.com
 |
 |
 |
 |