December 2001, the Adoptionireland website advertised the first "Bastards' Booze-up" — a night out mainly intended for anyone who had subscribed to the Adoptionireland mailing list. Well, the night out in question was well enjoyed by all those who could make it, including those from as far afield as New York, London and deepest Coolock! While the advert for the night out was up on the website, however, we received a couple of e-mails from people a bit put out by our use of the term 'Bastard'. Why were we putting ourselves down? Why take on a mantle that society had replaced with "illegitimate", before deciding that no special term at all should apply to those of us born outside wedlock?

I could be flippant and say we called it the "Bastards' Booze-up" out of a sense of black humour. OK, this *was* why we called it what we did — but looking beyond the flippant, there's a more serious angle to this. On the APA's link's page, you'll find a link to Bastard Nation (BN). BN is the equivalent organisation in the United States and Canada to the Adopted Peoples Association in Ireland. Their website explains in greater detail how they came up with the name, but I quote here from their Mission Statement:

"Bastard Nation Mission Statement

Bastard Nation is dedicated to the recognition of the full human and civil rights of adult adoptees. Toward that end, we advocate the opening to adoptees, upon request at age of majority, of those government documents which pertain to the adoptee's historical, genetic, and legal identity, including the unaltered original birth certificate and adoption decree.

Bastard Nation asserts that it is the right of people everywhere to have their official original birth records unaltered and free from falsification, and that the adoptive status of any person should not prohibit him or her from choosing to exercise that right.

We have reclaimed the badge of bastardy placed on us by those who would attempt to shame us; we see nothing shameful in having been born out of wedlock or in being adopted.

Bastard Nation does not support mandated mutual consent registries or intermediary systems in place of unconditional open records, nor any other system that is less than access on demand to the adult adoptee, without condition, and without qualification."

The italicised sentence above sums it up, really. For me, personally, to have the State change the semantics of a situation while at the same time leaving the reality unchanged is a bit rich. If I'd been born 50 years ago, I'd have been called a bastard to my face by the State, the church and society in general. Fifty years on, the State has decided that I shouldn't even be called illegitimate — that wouldn't be "nice" — and yet adopted people:

• Still have no legislation, despite many promises, that automatically gives them access to their birth certificates or records
• Still don't have a State-run Contact Register, despite the fact that this would take no legislation to enact; instead, they must rely on a voluntary organisation to provide one
• Still find that neither the Adoption Board nor Department of Health & Children have one, single leaflet available on tracing and reunion
• Still have to endure waits of up to five years before seeing a social worker
• Still find that certain agencies are treating them like children
• Still have to answer "I don't know!" when asked by doctors about their medical history
• Still have to weigh up the risks of getting their own children vaccinated without the benefit of that medical history
• Find that in the latest promised legislation, they will still not be given their natural father's name or any identifying information, even where this is on file

Anton Sweeney
AdoptionIreland Chairperson
Proud Bastard

February 2002