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Archiver > APG > 2001-04 > 0986615180


From: "Robert V. Montague" <>
Subject: Fw: [APG] Adoptions
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 22:47:22 -0500



----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert V. Montague" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2001 9:36 AM
Subject: Re: [APG] Adoptions


> I'm wondering about the ethics of a society that conspires to hide or
> conceal "the truth" about the vital statistics and medical history of
> innocent people who's only shame is being born. If we have to decide
> between the rights of privacy of the "shamed" and the rights of the
innocent
> born, then it's a slam dunk in favor of the innocent who need to know (and
I
> mean NEED to know) where they came from and who they are. Our society
needs
> to stop stigmatizing children born under other than ideal circumstances.
> Any action to the contrary effectively treats the innocent as less than
full
> members of the society of man. Everybody has a fundamental right to know
> who they are, society's self-serving attitudes about illegitimacy be
damned.
>
> Claiming rights is not the same thing as being right. The ethical thing
is
> to give the people involved a heads up about what you know and what will
be
> done with the info. But you don't need their permission to publish what
is
> already in the phone book or other public records. In my opinion (and
that
> of many) it is unethical to invoke the sacred right to privacy if that
right
> is being used to deny somebody else their right to know something as
> fundamental as their birthright. What if everybody were denied their
> birthright, where would we be as an organized society? Why inflict this
> denial on a select few and then condone it on the basis of the
perpetrators
> right to privacy. It's a vacuous and, again, unethical use of the term
> "right to privacy".
>
> Robert V. Montague
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Friday, April 06, 2001 8:59 AM
> Subject: [APG] Adoptions
>
>
> > Colleagues,
> > I assume that this topic has been discussed before but thought
I'd
> > throw it out anyway.
> > For the first time in my experience, I been asked to do research
on
> > the birth family of an adoptee. He already knows the name and location
> (at
> > the time of his birth) of his birth mother so, in that respect, I would
> not
> > be invading anyone's privacy.
> > Nevertheless, he does having living siblings who may or may not
> know
> > about him. I'm wondering about the ethics of the situation and would
> > appreciate any input.
> > Thanks in advance.
> > Bob Keener
> >
> >
> > ==== APG Mailing List ====
> > The Association of Professional Genealogists
> >
> >
>

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