Gretchen Sisson

SB381 has unanimously passed the California Senate! A huge step forward. On to the assembly!

Picture of the a plaque at the German Resistance Memorial in Berlin.

You did not bear the shame.
You resisted.
You bestowed the eternally vigilant symbol of change by sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom, justice and honour.

— The German Resistance Memorial in Berlin

One Crisis Pregnancy Center Has Received $1.1 Million in Federal Housing Funds Since 2020 A Georgia anti-abortion organization is building a maternity home. Public opposition surfaced allegations of false advertising and medical licensing issues—and resulted in cease and desist letters.

NEW: An Atlanta-area crisis pregnancy center has raked in more than $1 million from an unusual source: the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The CPC is opening a maternity home, worrying advocates that residents may be coerced into relinquishing children for adoption.
@autonomynews.co

Sorry, that was totally unclear on my part!!

No, I mean: she was spinning a hypothetical. But I’ve just interviewed a woman who meets the criteria of that hypothetical — and she supports open records.

Hey, that woman is real. I know her. I interviewed her.

She achieved safety when her child was three years old and immediately contacted the agency to open her adoption.

Senator Weiner "no matter what we do, some people will end up not being pleased, but here we have an opportunity to do something that will make 100% of adoptees happy and the vast majority of birth parents happy as well"

Thank goodness I’m not in the room today. I could not control my face.

The conversation in front of the health committee today is infuriating. We’re devoting infinite time to this hypothetical group of birth mothers who don’t want their children to have access to their records.

I’ve spoken to so many birth mothers. I’ve never met this woman.

Just add the difference to your SCDC pledge then, I guess.

Well shit, only the “Founding Member” level gets me “undying gratitude” perk and somehow that’s actually leading me to want to upgrade. @stevevladeck.bsky.social

(She’s not! I was just joking because the level of knowledge among actual legislators has been a frustration.)

lol is this a state legislator.

Please THANK Senator Weber Pierson for her vote today and let her know you hope she’s a YES tomorrow on SB381 on health committee.

And please call Senator Caroline Menjivar (health chair) to advocate.

Open records for adopted people has passed the California judiciary committee. Unanimously.

On to the health committee tomorrow.

In Sacramento at the senate judiciary committee hearing, advocating for the rights of CA-born adopted people to access their own records. I am concerned about tomorrow’s health committee hearing. If you are in CA, you can call the health committee senators (see below) & advocate in support of SB381.

*whispers* try to imagine something better than this world we’ve currently created

I think it will pass judiciary today, but I am concerned about health committee tomorrow.

Also, no one was told their records would also be sealed. But this premise refuses to go away.

Please tell folks to especially call Senators Menjivar and Wieber Pearson. They need to hear from birth/first mothers especially.

Serious Reservations | Kristen Martin The Trump administration’s erasure of Indigenous history serves a larger project—yet another plunder of land.

Indian boarding schools sought to strip Native children of their culture. Now, the Trump administration seeks to strip their stories from the historical record while opening ancestral lands for pillage and plunder.

Working on my letter to the CA senate judiciary committee right now! CA-born adopted people deserve access to their records. Link below to learn how to offer your support.

Washington Post Opinions @postopinions.bsky.social I "The purpose of entitlements is not to spend as much as possible," the Editorial Board writes. "It is to make sure the truly vulnerable get the help they need without becoming dependent on government handouts. Scrutinizing food stamp rolls is a small step in that direction."

No. No. No.

Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.

Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.

First mothers need support, not baby boxes. I discussed this on Al Jazeera. Real support = housing, healthcare, childcare, help & community. When we invest in mothers, we invest in keeping families together. #FamilyPreservation #FirstMothers #adoption @gretchensisson.bsky.social #AlJazeera 🥚

Many things can be true.

This policy is racist.

*And* transnational adoption into the US is a dying industry that has always been rooted in white saviorism, evangelicalism, predation, lies, and the exploitation geopolitical conflict or natural disaster.

Adoption isn’t actually supposed to be about sourcing babies for people who want them. A just system wouldn’t be accountable to you at all. It doesn’t owe you an alternative.

I can, but they’re probably not the same as the Trump Administration’s reasons.

Glad to be included in this conversation with “Liberty Lost”’s @tjraphael.bsky.social from the Concerned United Birthparent conference. I believe this is the first mainstream critical coverage of the adoption tax credit — an important step in the conversation to align our investment with our values.

The replies on these threads always remind me how very, very far we have to go. Thanks for always starting the conversation.

I used to make a podcast called ACCESS, and there are a few episodes that continue to get a steady stream of downloads even though they're years old. My episode about adoption, which included an interview with @gretchensisson.bsky.social, is one! Small snippet here: www.instagram.com/p/ChsfdetD6Gt/