Thread by @cmcgettrick

🚨Re the contention that a referendum on adopted people's right to their information 🚨

Firstly legal scholars e.g., @ConorUCCLaw have repeatedly argued that a referendum isn't necessary in order to legislate for access to birth certificates: constitutionproject.ie/?p=331 #rtept 1/

Secondly, birth certificates have been public records since 1864. There is no legitimate reason to hold a referendum to allow access to a publicly available document. I mean, come on?

You do know that our birth certs don't even have our mothers' addresses right? 2/

A referendum to ask permission from the entire country for adopted people to access their birth certificates (public documents) is deeply discriminatory. 3/

NB, the social construction of adoption in Ireland represents a major barrier to the prospect of a successful adoption referendum outcome here. Referendum campaigns require significant resources and can prove difficult to run, even for organisations with paid staff. 4/

Thousands of canvassers are required but many adopted people feel pressured to conform to certain expected norms (e.g. dutifully reporting a happy adoption experience) & this doesn't always lend itself to political activism. 5/

Moreover, the dynamics of closed, secret adoption render many adopted people unable to recognise that they too have been subjected to an injustice. This would pose a significant challenge in the event of a referendum campaign. 6/

A referendum on information rights also has the potential to have a negative impact on adopted people, natural mothers and others affected by adoption, to the extent that it would further compound the human rights violations already suffered. 7/

In their study of the impact of #marref, Dane, Short and Healy (vuir.vu.edu.au/31766/) found that there were significant negative psychological & social impacts from the ‘NO’ campaign and the referendum. 8/

Dane, Short & Healy concluded that the ‘negative impacts exist and remain, despite the positive outcome for marriage equality in Ireland’. 9/

Many members of the ‘NO’ side of #marref are also opposed to opening adoption records (e.g., independent.ie/opinion/commen… ). It's reasonable to conclude that adopted people could expect to have a similar experience in a (wholly unnecessary) referendum on their rights. 10/

In conclusion, a referendum is not needed, it will make matters worse & if the Government attempts to bring forward a referendum on adopted people's right to access their birth certificates, we will robustly oppose it in the strongest possible terms. 11/11