Legislating Parental Protection

Legislation and government regulations play an important role in the area of adoption. Family advocates support extending the time period during which the mother of a newborn cannot sign any papers allowing her child to be adopted. We also believe that parents should have a reasonable amount of time during which they can revoke their consent and have their babies immediately returned. No amount of counseling can prepare a mother for the reality of surrendering her child, but a revocation period of at least 90 days would give her the opportunity to recover from birth and more fully comprehend the experience of losing a child to adoption.

Family advocates also lobby that parents who surrender in an open adoption cannot be arbitrarily cut out of their children’s lives. Activist organizations are always interested in signing up new volunteers who can help draft legislation and lobby for needed changes to current adoption laws. If you have previous public policy experience, you can donate your time and efforts to the organizations like Adoption: Legalized Lies, “birth-“ Mothers Exploited By Adoption, and Adoption Crossroads. Each of these groups is supportive of legal changes that will protect future families from the predatory adoption industry.