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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 17, 2001
ABORN
ACTION ALERT
Contact: Michelle Konieczny, editor@taap.8k.com
ABORN
Organization http://www.aborn.org
(please feel free to forward this alert to all interested
parties)
Tennessee 'Safe Haven'
bill headed to full Senate for vote
HB474/SB774 to legalize
abandonment of newborn infants
Tennessee Senate's General Welfare Committee has passed SB774 and the bill is now headed for the Calendar and Rules Committee which schedules when bills will go to the entire Senate for a vote. Numerous bills regading Legalized Abandonment have been considered in Tennessee's Legislature this year, but now efforts are consolidated behind this piece of legislation.
SB774/HB474 would allow parents to leave a child less than 72 hours old with a hospital or medical provider without fear of abandonment or endangerment charges. The full text of the bill is available here: SB774/HB474
ABORN Organization encourages Tennessee residents to contact their Senators and let them know that the only acceptable vote on this proposed legislation is a resounding, "NO"!
Important points to include in correspondance on this subject include the following:
1. Legalized Abandonment violates a child/person's legal, civil. human and Constitutional right to identity, heritage information and familial medical history. The results of this could be life-threatening as a complete medical history is an absolute necessity in order to receive proper medical care not only during childhood but throughout a person's life.
2. Legalized Abandonment trumps, most often, a Father's right to know not only of the existence of his child, but also violates the rights afforded to them under State and Federal Law as it pertains to Relinquishment and Parental Rights.
3. Legalized Abandonment grossly violates current State and Federal Laws regarding termination of parental rights and current adoption laws including but not limited to the Indian Child Welfare Act.
4. Legalized Abandonment allows for the committance of gross fraud as there are no measures taken to assure that the person abandoning said child is indeed that person's lawful parent/guardian.
5. Legalized Abandonment has never been proven as an effective deterrent against the social problem of infant abandonment. In fact in the year following the enactment of the Texas "Baby Dump" laws, not ONE child was rescued under the law. Despite numerous states following suit and enacting their own "Baby Dump" laws, babies continue to be found abandoned outside the regulations of said laws.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR TENNESSEE SENATORS:
Sen. Ben Acthley
(R-6th)
email: sen.ben.atchley@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Marsha Blackburn
(R-23rd)
email: sen.marsha.blackburn@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Tim Burchett
(R-7th)
email: sen.tim.burchett@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Charlotte Burks
(D-15th)
email: sen.charlotte.burks@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Bobby Carter
(R-27th)
email: sen.bobby.carter@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Bill Clabough
(R-8th)
email: sen.bill.clabough@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Stephen I. Cohen
(D-30th)
email: sen.stephen.cohen@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Jerry W. Cooper
(D-14th)
email: sen.jerry.cooper@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Rusty Crowe
(R-3rd)
email: sen.rusty.crowe@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Ward Crutchfield
(D-10th)
email: sen.ward.crutchfield@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Lincoln Davis
(D-12th)
email: sen.lincoln.davis@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Roscoe Dixon
(D-33rd)
email: sen.roscoe.dixon@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Gene Elsea
(R-13th)
email: sen.gene.elsea@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. John N. Ford
(D-29th)
email: sen.john.ford@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. David Fowler
(R-11th)
email: sen.david.fowler@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen Jo Ann Graves
(D-18th)
email: sen.joann.graves@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Thelma Harper
(D-19th) BILL SPONSOR
email: sen.thelma.harper@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Tommy Haun
(R-1st)
email: sen.tommy.haun@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen Joe M. Haynes
(D-20th)
email: sen.joe.haynes@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Douglas Henry
(D-11th)
email: sen.douglas.henry@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen Roy Herron
(D-24th)
email: sen.roy.herron@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Doug Jackson
(D-25th)
email: sen.doug.jackson@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Rosalind Kurita
(D-22nd)
email: sen.rosalind.kurita@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. James F. Kyle,
Jr. (D-28th)
email: sen.james.kyle@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen Randy McNally
(R-5th)
email: sen.randy.mcnally@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Jeff Miller
(R-9th)
email: sen.jeff.miller@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Mark Norris
(R-32nd)
email: sen.mark.norris@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Curtis S.
Person, Jr. (R-31st)
email: sen.curtis.person.jr@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Ron Ramsey
(R-2nd)
email: sen.ron.ramsey@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Robert Rochelle
(D-17th)
email: sen.robert.rochelle@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen Larry Trail
(D-16th)
email: sen.larry.trail@legislature.state.tn.us
Lt. Governor John S
Wilder (D-26th)
email: lt.gov.john.wilder@legislature.state.tn.us
Sen. Michael R.
Williams (R-4th)
email: sen.michael.williams@legislature.state.tn.us
For helpful hints
when writing to legislators please see the following link: http://taap.8k.com/alerts/
and scroll to the bottom. Information includes proper way to
address letters to Legislative Officials.
For more information on the subject of Legal Abandonment be sure to see the following links:
BN position paper on
Legal Abandonment:
http://www.bastards.org/activism/legalized-abandonment.html
(although ABORN does not endorse some of BNs positions/policies
their position paper on this subject
outlines most of our concerns as well.)
For information from
supporters of these bills see:
http://www.babymoses.org
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