CoheeLady
01-25-2003, 05:53 PM
Hello All,
Just recently legislation was passed in regards to adoptions in the state of Virginia. The legislation is about race. When the new law takes effect all birth certificates of children that are adopted will no longer have the "race" listed of their biological parents. Therefore, the children will "take on" the race designation of their adoptive parents. Sound familiar? I'm sure you all know that many years ago in Virginia & elsewhere, european families "took in" American Indian children, & then they were officially called "white". History has a way of repeating itself, time & time again in Virginia. We take one step forward, & now this. I personally am outraged about this, I only wish I had known about it, prior to it's passage.
I realize that race is just a label, but it's appalling to think that a childs ancestry will be tossed aside & lost forever. Can you imagine the turmoil this will cause for the children in the future? Or the fact the he or she will never be able to know about genectic illnesses that may be in their family. As another piece of legislation is headed for the floor to be voted on, it makes it almost impossble for those that were adopted to get their records unsealed. As one House of Delegate member told me, "In a court of law, they better have a damned good reason, to get information on their biological parents!" "If not then they get nothing at all". The good ole boy mentality of Virginia. :(
Sincerely,
Coheeslady
Just recently legislation was passed in regards to adoptions in the state of Virginia. The legislation is about race. When the new law takes effect all birth certificates of children that are adopted will no longer have the "race" listed of their biological parents. Therefore, the children will "take on" the race designation of their adoptive parents. Sound familiar? I'm sure you all know that many years ago in Virginia & elsewhere, european families "took in" American Indian children, & then they were officially called "white". History has a way of repeating itself, time & time again in Virginia. We take one step forward, & now this. I personally am outraged about this, I only wish I had known about it, prior to it's passage.
I realize that race is just a label, but it's appalling to think that a childs ancestry will be tossed aside & lost forever. Can you imagine the turmoil this will cause for the children in the future? Or the fact the he or she will never be able to know about genectic illnesses that may be in their family. As another piece of legislation is headed for the floor to be voted on, it makes it almost impossble for those that were adopted to get their records unsealed. As one House of Delegate member told me, "In a court of law, they better have a damned good reason, to get information on their biological parents!" "If not then they get nothing at all". The good ole boy mentality of Virginia. :(
Sincerely,
Coheeslady