"I never gave them hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." Harry S. Truman
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Mirah Riben
Mirah Riben is a Complex Trauma Survivor, author, and advocate for family preservation and for adoptees' right to their authentic birth certificate rights. Since 1980 she has been a staunch activist she researching, investigating and writing to expose and oppose the corruption, coercion, exploitation, commodification, and trafficking of children for adoption and anonymous contract conception.
She has authored two internationally acclaimed books and two hundred fifty articles appearing in such publications as: Huffington Post, Medium, Dissident Voice, Crime Magazine, Courier-Post, News Blaze, OpEd, News, Conducive Magazine, USA Today, CounterCurrents, Associated Content, Utne Reader, Social Issues Review, Macrocosm USA, Jersey Woman, Suburban Parent, The Jewish Press, Family Journal, The Woman’s Newspaper of Princeton, and Mothering.
► NOTE: None of Riben's writing has ever been done for, nor garnered, any profit or financial gain, nor is this page monetized.
See:
As a proponent of social justice and human rights, with a focus on the rights mothers, fathers, children and families in crisis, since 1980, Mirah (pronounced mĭr'ə or Meer-a, like Mira Sorvino or mirror-mirror on the wall. Not Myra) has been researching, investigating, and writing:
- In favor of Family Preserveration and replacing current adoption practices with "simple adoption" or Permanent Legal Guardianship.
- To end the falsification of birth certificates that claim adoptess were born to their adopters and restore equal access for adoptees who have been issued fraudulent birth certificates.
- In opposition of all profiteering, corruption, coercion in adoption.
- To expose the emotional, physical and sexual abuse in adoptive families including children rehomed, abandoned and murder by those who committed to protect and care for them.
- To end pre-birth matching and "expenses" paid directly from prospective adopters to expectant mothers. These practices, currently allowable in many states, are simply a rues for human trafficking and have no place in child welfare.They enmesh expectant mothers considering adoption with those seeking to adopt, creating false expectations for hopeful adopters and feelings of obligation and indebtedness for the mothers-to-be.
BOOKS:
The Dark Side of Adoption" (1988)
Excerpts of The Dark Side have appeared in:
In 1987 Michelle Launder's daughter was murdered by Joel Steinberg who illegally adopted the child he called Lisa. In the Steinberg apartment which was called a "house of horrors," a toddler boy - also illegally adopted - was found in a state of neglect. Mirah worked with authorities to reunite the child Steinberg and Nussbaum called Mitchell, with his original family, who had agreed to his adoption under duress.
She organized a Candlelight Vigil to honor Lisa and to bring attention to the need for adoption reform and adoptee access. It was covered on WNBC-TV New York.
Mirah's October 1989 presentation at the AAC Region 3 conference was entitled “In the ‘Best Interest’ of All: Equal Rights for Adopted-Separated Persons” spearheading a change of the language of adoptee access to their original, authentic birth certificates. Mirah argued that the terminology of seeking "open records" that had been creeping along state by state since the 1940's when adoptee birth certificates were first sealed, created images of invsion of others' privacy.
Mirah instead urged the adoption community to reframe the issue as what it was: an issue of denied eual human rights. She again presented this revised relabeling of adoptee access in her article: "Dear Bastards Demand Equality" which was published in the Spring/Summer 2006 Vol. 8, No 1, BastardQuarterly.
In April 2009, at the AAC in Cleveland, Mirah presented: "'Open Records' versus 'Equal Access: Reexamining our Goals" again encouraging adoption rights advocates yet again to stop asking for “open records,” and to frame their argument as one of equal rights. The button (above, right) was designed for that event.
Mirah has since gone further and demands states stop issuing falsified, fruadulent birth certificates.
Mirah has been keynote, invited speaker, and panel member at numerous national and state adoption conferences such as:
Mirah has appeared as an adoption expert on Russian-American TV numerous times to discuss the abuse, murder, and abandonment of Russian adopted children that led to the ban on Russian adoptions.
Mirah has also appeared on several national television programs including The Morton Downey Jr. Show and The Joan Rivers Show to discuss the Steinberg/Nussbaum murder of their illegally adopted child.
In 2009 Mirah traveled to Guatemala with a human rights delegation to support, and joining the hunger strike of Fundación Sobrevivientes and the mothers of children kidnapped for adoption. Her trip is reported here and:
In this old blog post, Mirah shares her thoughts on whether her involvement in adoption is an Obsession or Commitment.
Excerpts of The Dark Side have appeared in:
- Utne Reader, "A Last Resort," Nov/Dec, 1991, Vol. 4, pp 53-54
- Social Issues Review Series, 1991, Vol. 4
- Macrocosm USA, "A Last Resort," 1992, p. 147
AWARDS:
- 2009. Nominated National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Public Citizen of the Year
- 1997-1998. Who’s Who in American Women, 20th edition
- 1989. Recipient “Outstanding Achievement Award to an Author”, People Searching News
ACTIVISM:
Risking imprisonment, Mirah reunited hundreds of families separated by adoption and helped mothers prevent unnecessary loss by providing temporary shelter in her home.
As an advocate of family preservation not adoption separation, Mirah seeks an end to the falsification of vital records and believe that adoption as it is currently practiced needs to be replaced with guardian adoption after all attempts to provide resources for children to remain safely within their extended family have been exhausted. Such permanent legal guardianship would give all necessary rights to caretakers without falsifying the adopted person's original birth certificate. It is in no person's best interest to have their vital records falsified, hiding the truth from the individuals whose records they are.
Mirah co-founded the original Origins in 1979. She is former Director of the American Adoption Congress, Past Vice President of Communications of Origins-USA, and a lifetime member of Bastard Nation.
She organized a Candlelight Vigil to honor Lisa and to bring attention to the need for adoption reform and adoptee access. It was covered on WNBC-TV New York.
In 1989, Mirah organized a speak-out at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. It was the culmination of a walk from New York City to Washington DC of adoptees, adoptive parents, and mothers who had lost children to adoption.
Below L - R: Mary Anne Cohen, Sherry Chait and Mirah
Also, that year, at the AAC national conference in NYC, Mirah organized a “red tape” event that garnered media attention to the issue of adoptees being denied access to their birth certificates.
Mirah instead urged the adoption community to reframe the issue as what it was: an issue of denied eual human rights. She again presented this revised relabeling of adoptee access in her article: "Dear Bastards Demand Equality" which was published in the Spring/Summer 2006 Vol. 8, No 1, BastardQuarterly.
In April 2009, at the AAC in Cleveland, Mirah presented: "'Open Records' versus 'Equal Access: Reexamining our Goals" again encouraging adoption rights advocates yet again to stop asking for “open records,” and to frame their argument as one of equal rights. The button (above, right) was designed for that event.
Mirah has since gone further and demands states stop issuing falsified, fruadulent birth certificates.
Mirah has been keynote, invited speaker, and panel member at numerous national and state adoption conferences such as:
- The Association for Research on Mothering Conference, York University, Toronto, Canada 2009. "Mothering and the Environment."
- The 6th Annual PLI Adoption Law Institute Conference panel, “Costs of Adoption: A Survey and Ethical Considerations” 2009.
- The 7th Annual NJ Research Conference on Women, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, May, 1989
- The 2007 Adoption Ethics and Accountability Conference sponsored by The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and Ethica, Inc., Arlington, Va.
Bloggers at the Ethics in Adoption Conference 2009.
L-R: Claudia D'Arcy, Suz Bednarz, Bernadette Wright, Mirah Riben
Mirah has appeared as an adoption expert on Russian-American TV numerous times to discuss the abuse, murder, and abandonment of Russian adopted children that led to the ban on Russian adoptions.
Mirah has also appeared on several national television programs including The Morton Downey Jr. Show and The Joan Rivers Show to discuss the Steinberg/Nussbaum murder of their illegally adopted child.
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BELOW: Governor Christie signing The NJ Adoptee Birthright Access Bill, 2016
In this old blog post, Mirah shares her thoughts on whether her involvement in adoption is an Obsession or Commitment.
- Contact: Mirah.Riben@Rutgers.edu
*CTS. Complex Post Traumatic Survivor
I am an adoptee. Told may 3 1968. Long beach memorial. But may have been transfered to los angles childrens hospital society for a hernia. Hospitalized for 2weeks. Foster care for 3 months. I was told adoption went through in august. Born at 3:12 in the afternoon. Dark brown hair. Big blue eyes. Narrow nose. Wide set eyes. I was told mother had an iron deficiency.
ReplyDeletePost your information on Facebook. Look for search angles on Facebook. Contact https://adopteerightslaw.com/california-obc/ And also try DNA testing.
ReplyDelete