‘I fight for adoption rights every day’

AS the campaign to improve the rights of adopted people gathers momentum, one of the founders of the Adoption Rights Alliance has written to the Minister for the Children reminding him how every day of her life is spent fighting for those whose rights are being routinely denied.

Claire McGettrick was 37 on Monday. For 10 years she has fought on behalf of adopted people who are fighting to get basic details about their birth parents, including family medical history.

The Adoption Rights Alliance is one of a number of children’s and adoption groups who have helped formed a coalition to campaign for the information and tracing rights of the country’s estimated 42,000 adopted people and their families.

It’s estimated that up to 10,000 adopted people and their families have registered with the Adoption Board and other agencies seeking information about each other. However, this service is without a legislative basis and so the continuation of the service cannot be guaranteed. There are also lengthy waiting times due to lack of resources for the service.

In her letter, Ms McGettrick wrote how her life is spent “cleaning up the mess left behind by the closed secret system imposed by the 1952 Adoption Act”.

“Minister, I didn’t spend my birthday relaxing or enjoying myself; rather I spent the day cleaning up the mess left behind by the closed secret system imposed by the 1952 Adoption Act – the same system that you are upholding by not legislating for adopted people’s rights. I answered emails and letters. I spoke to an adopted person who has a dire need for medical information that is being denied to her by an incompetent social worker.

“I also had two-hour long phone calls with natural mothers who were overwhelmed, yet overjoyed at hearing a non-judgemental tone on the other end of the phone, since they were chewed up and spat out by an uncaring Ireland.

“It’s not my mess, but I’m cleaning it up. I am a grown woman with a happy life who has reunited with my natural family. Yet, under the current system I am made to feel like a child, a second-class citizen and a criminal, though I have not broken any laws,” she said.

“I do not want to know about the complexities of adoption, the balancing of rights, what Supreme Court judgement said what. All I know is that over 42,000 adopted people, including myself, are treated differently to the rest of Irish society. We were not given a say-so or choice as infants and yet adoption is supposed to be in the best interests of the child. Isn’t it ironic Minister, that this adopted person didn’t have a relaxing birthday because of the failings of your so–called ‘effective’ system.”