Massachusetts Call to Action

ACTION NEEDED: Contact Senate President Karen Spilka—and your own Massachusetts state senator—by phone or email to express strong support for H2294 and to request that they support the bill and get it to the Senate floor for a vote.

Three things you can do today: Contact Senate Leadership • Contact Your Massachusetts State Senator • Share this Action on Social Media

Background: Senate Bill H2294 is short (it merely deletes 13 words in current Massachusetts law) and is in play for at least the fourth consecutive legislative session. It closes a date-based loophole in current law by eliminating a discriminatory provision that denies an unrestricted right to the OBC for adoptees who were born between July 17, 1974 and January 1, 2008. The bill passed the House unanimously, and all eyes are now on the Massachusetts Senate.

Write and Call Senate Leadership

Senate President Karen Spilka needs to hear from all of us that H2294 and its companion bill have significant and broad support. Write and call Senator Spilka to request her leadership and support for H2294 so that it ultimately gets a vote in the full Senate. Contact information for Sen. Spilka and her Chief of Staff:

What to Say

Be respectful and brief, whether you email or call or do both. Address the email to Senate President Spilka and get many or all of these points across:

• Whether you are a Massachusetts resident or a Massachusetts adoptee;
• Your connection to adoption if you are not an adoptee (saying you are an ally or supporter of adoptee rights is perfectly fine, particularly if you are a birthparent or adoptive parent);
• That H2294 is an important bill for all adopted people and it will finally restore equality to all adult adoptees in Massachusetts;
• That H2294 has broad bipartisan support;
• That you want to see H2294 clear any assigned committees this session and receive consideration and a vote by the full Senate
• Your own personal message or story (but be brief!)

Contact Your Own State Senator

If you haven’t done so already, write or call your own state senator to indicate that you support S1440 and would like to see it enacted. Messages should be concise and should explain who you are and your connection to adoption. Plus, you should generally ask two things:

1. Please support the bill by voting YES on the bill when it comes before you;
2. Please let me know your position on the bill.

Remember, this is a very simple bill that does one thing: eliminates unfairness and discrimination against adult adopted people who were apparently born at the wrong time: between July 17, 1974 and January 1, 2008.

Who Represents You in Massachusetts? A list of Massachusetts senators and their contact information is below. You can determine your senator by searching on one of these two sites:

* indicates that the Senator is already a sponsor or co-sponsor of S1440 (Massachusetts actually uses the terms “presenter” or “petitioner”). Sen. Anne Gobi is the Senate bill’s presenter.

Share this Image/Message

Copy and paste the following into Twitter to create an instant Tweet that tags the Massachusetts Senate and Senate President Karen Spilka.

Seriously, Massachusetts? It’s past time to enact H2294, an equal rights bill for all Massachusetts adopted people and their families. @MA_Senate @KarenSpilka https://adopteerightslaw.com/action/massachusetts/social/