Right to Know Weekly Roundup

Right To Know
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A quick roundup of Right to Know's week. We are a non-profit that advocates for people impacted by DNA surprises and misattributed parentage which can occur due to an adoption, assisted conception, or those conceived from a non-paternal event (NPE) to ensure our fundamental human right to know our genetic identity through education, mental health initiatives, and advocacy.

  1. 02/04/2022

    Feb 4 Weekly Round-Up

    RTK is now listed as a resource for Ancestry.com under unexpected matches - yea!  We testified on SB 5348 in WA. Traci Portugal who is the product of doctor fertility fraud testified first. Jennifer Morris Gorgarten who is a Biostatistics professor at UW, a married lesbian mom who had her children through assisted reproduction with a donor and who has donated eggs - all known from birth, testified next. Licensed therapist Jana Rupnow, LPC who wrote “Three Makes Baby, How to Parent Donor-Conceived Children” added “some families are open with their children regarding their conception but do not understand the importance of genetic identity. Acknowledging genetic identity does not threaten a loving family environment but can instead strengthen the parent-child bond.”Sarah Chicoine, JD who wrote “The Birth of Fertility Fraud: How to Protect Washingtonians” discussed why victims do not have a clear path to bring such suits as well. Peter J Boni, a DCP and author of Uprooted, testified how the fertility industry operates with little legislative accountability. Laura Gunner who conceived her son through the use of a sperm donor who did not disclose past medical conditions and her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia and died from a drug overdose testified: “A multibillion-dollar industry profited from my son’s conception and he and my family suffered the consequences because it was based on a lie. There will never be justice for Steven. Donor-conceived people deserve better. No one should have their life and health determined by a lie.” The democratic majority voted to move forward only the loss of licensure for a doctor who engages in such practices forward. Two republicans noted this was not sufficient and we agree. We will continue to fight to protect donor-conceived people in our home state. In IA, SF 2169, was re-introduced by Senator Sweeney. There’s a provision that states a patient’s request to use an anonymous donor is not a defense to fertility fraud. And, MI introduced broad-based fertility fraud legislation with up to 31 sponsors. When reaching out to genetic family - GO SLOW. If you are not ready for all outcomes, do not reach out. We know this feels impossible given how your world was turned upside down and you want answers. Sunday at noon PST, join us with therapist John Moyer, LPC to discuss how to come back from rejection. Email RSVP@RightToKnow.us for the zoom link and sign up here to automatically receive links. Check out the podcast Message in a Bottle

    6 min

  2. 01/28/2022

    Jan 28 Weekly Round Up

    Right to Know started a new Facebook support group “DNA Surprise Support for MPE Family & Friends.” This is a safe space for the friends and family of people who’ve had a DNA surprise and learned they have misattributed parentage to chat about how this discovery is impacting them.  One young man who reached out to Right to Know more than two years ago finally identified his genetic father. His adopted parents and genetic mother have all passed away. We send lots of love and hope his way for a positive reunion with his only living parent. Tuesday fertility fraud victim Traci Portugal bravely testified before the WA House Public Safety Committee on HB1848 regarding the creation of two new crimes in Washington state. Representative Orwall, who is adopted, sponsored the bill. In her introduction, she talks about how growing up, if she was told she looked like someone she was dating, how horrifying it was because she didn’t know who her relatives were. She emphasized how incredibly traumatic it was.  Everyone has a right to know their genetic identity. Not knowing leads to incorrect medical history, identity issues, and the possibility of having intimate relationships with family members. We are testifying next week on SB 5348 in the WA Senate Committee on Law & Justice which in addition to the two crimes in the House bill also includes a civil cause of action and a loss of licensure provision for doctors found guilty of either crime or who lose a civil case.  On our website, you will find a list of email addresses for committee members. Please take a moment to send an email to the WA Senate committee asking them to vote yes on SB 5348 and while you're at it, email the Oregon House Health Care Committee members asking them to schedule a hearing NOW. Check out the new podcast, “DNA Surprises” with host Alexis Hourselt who in July 2021 discovered she had an NPE. And congratulations to author Leeanne Hay who’s book "NPE A Story Guide for Unexpected DNA Discoveries" is now the #1 new release on Amazon in Genealogy and Sociology of Marriage and Family.

    4 min

  3. 01/14/2022

    Jan 14 Weekly Round Up

    We are excited to announce that Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies has agreed to partner with Right to Know to assist us with navigating the crazy political waters of New York. The Kevin Bacon theory is a play on the concept of six degrees of separation, the theory that proposes all human beings in the world are just six or fewer social connections away from one another. With it likely that 1 in 20 people have misattributed parentage, I would argue that people with an MPE are more like three degrees of separation. Email us your Kevin Bacon degrees of separation stories at info@RightToKnow.us Donate to Right to Know today. We need donations to help fund test kits for people searching for their genetic family. Thank you to the lovely woman from Wisconsin who donated $500 to support our efforts. We are grateful for all of the community support we receive. Turn your pain into power. It’s the 2022 legislative season. Advocated for changes in the law. Become a mentor. Help plan Right to Know’s 2023 summit. Volunteering can help you regain agency. Your pain can turn into your greatest power.  Check out Peter Boni’s personal story as our featured MPE Narrative for mid-January. Peter learned he was donor-conceived and spent years trying to identify his genetic family. Read about his journey in his new book Uprooted, available now.

    4 min

  4. 01/07/2022

    Jan 7 Weekly Round Up

    Legislative sessions start next week and we'll be busy. We highlight our MI legislation this week. The legislation creates a crime of Assisted Reproduction Fraud punishable with up to 5 years in jail and $50,000 for anyone who provides false information in the assisted reproduction process or uses gametes not expressly consented to by the patient. Doctors who use their own sperm would face an additional punishment of up to 15 years in jail and $100,000 fine and would lose their medical license if convicted. The bill also creates a civil cause of action for false representation in assisted reproduction with standing for the patient, spouse, and offspring. We’ll be sending out ways for you to reach out to MI legislators as soon as the bill is introduced.  Right to Know and the National Association of Adoptees and Parents are in negotiations with venues in Louisville Kentucky for our Summit in March 2023. We are uniting the adoption, assisted conception and non-paternal event communities to amply our voices. This will be a time to connect, reflect, and be heard. This is shaping up to be an amazing event! Our directory of mental health professionals who have experience working with misattributed parentage is growing. If you’ve seen, or are seeing, a therapist that has helped you, please let us know about them at info@RightToKnow.us. Our education website now offers all of our past webinars and classes to help you with your misattributed parentage experience. Check out “Societal Perceptions of Ancestral DNA, Race, and Identity” with Dr. Anita Foeman of the DNA Discussion Project and Shaun Stanley, a PHD philosophy student from the University of Bristol where we discuss how over-the-counter DNA testing is affecting our views on ethnicity. Who Do We Think We Are? This Sunday at noon PST /3:00pm EST we will be hosting a discussion on Rebuilding Trust after Betrayal with Jana M Rupnow, LPC. Jana is a licensed professional counselor and consultant specializing in fertility and family building. Her best-selling book, Three Makes Baby-How to Parent Your Donor-Conceived Child, introduced the “five common fears” that parents face as they contemplate having a non-biological child. Thousands of readers around the world have trusted the wisdom and guidance because she knows firsthand what it’s like to be in a non-biological family, as an adoptee and adoptive mom. We’re looking to this! Email RSVP@RightToKnow.us for the zoom link. Mark your calendars: Sunday, January 20 at noon PST /3:00pm EST attend our webinar “The State of Affairs in Assisted Conception" with Diane Tober, Peter Boni, and Dr. Damian Adams. Email RSVP@RightToKnow.us for the zoom link.

    4 min

  5. 12/31/2021

    Dec 31 Weekly Round Up

    If you missed our last webinar, Not My Parent's Child, with Dr. Berryessa, Brad Ewell, and Wendi Babst where we discussed the intersection of ethics, genetics, criminology, psychology, and misattributed parentage, it is now available on our MPE-Education website. Check out other past webinars such as the one with Rock guitarist Dan McKinnon and Actor, Singer, Artist, Writer – well, all-around super talented Cory Goodrich where they discuss how music, art, and writing has helped them through their misattributed parentage discovery. We just added a new general class, Understanding Your Ancestry.com DNA Results in collaboration with DNAngles. Kelly Grace from DNAngels does an amazing job of walking some through their Ancestry.com DNA test results, how to build a family tree, what ThruLines is, and reviewing DNA matches. She throws in some great tips too. We are grateful to partner with DNAngels. On Sunday, January 9th at noon pacific standard time with licensed therapist Jana M. Rupnow will be guiding us through a discussion on rebuilding trust after betrayal. Our Webinar will be Sunday, January 23rd at noon pacific standard time is called “The State of Affairs in Assisted Conception.” Sign up to automatically receive links to our events or email RSVP@RightToKnow.us. Recipient mom Laura helped introduce legislation in New York called the "Donor Conceived Person Protection Act", Senate Bill 7602 sponsored by Senator Gallivan. The purpose of the new legislation is to ensure the banks in New York verify medical, education, and background information stated by donors and that such information is made available to the offspring at 18 years of age.  Check out the Spotify music list someone put together for our Facebook support group, DNA Identity Surprise & This MPE Life for coping with a DNA surprise, there are 99 songs here from every genre.

    4 min

  6. 12/18/2021

    Dec 17 Weekly Round Up

    This week we take the time to tell you a little bit about why Right To Know was created and some of the things we do. Everything we do is based on the principle that it is a fundamental human right to know your genetic identity. We have three pillars of service: education, mental health, and advocacy to assist the three misattributed parentage communities: adoptees, donor-conceived, and NPEs. Consider making a sustaining donation to RTK to ensure no one with an MPE ever feels alone. Check out this amazing song, I'm Legit, sung by Zara Phillips and DMC.

    5 min

  7. 12/10/2021

    Dec 10 Weekly Round Up

    Thank you to Assemblymember Jacobson in New York who coordinated with Assemblymember Lunsford to co-sponsor the legislation, A00718A. These two amazing politicians worked tirelessly with Senator Brouk and Biaggi to sponsor this legislation in the Senate.  Thanks to therapist Kate Murphy for making last week's community and connection fabulous. The topic of our lack of medical history came up and it touched a nerve. Not a surprise, since according to our MPE Survey 2021, 70% of respondents said that not knowing about their medical history made them anxious. Check out Kate’s presentation and suggested resources. Join us on January 9th with therapist Jana Rupnow. This Sunday, December 12th at noon PST we are holding our monthly webinar, Not My Parent’s Child – Genetics, DNA Surprises, Ethical Behaviors. Our panelists will be discussing the intersection of ethics, genetics, criminology, psychology, and MPEs. Join Dr. Collen Berryessa who has a doctorate in criminology, late discovery adoptee Brad Ewell, and Wendi Babst who is the product of fertility fraud. We always have time for Q & A. Remember folks, we record these events. You can watch past webinars on our new education website: www.MPE-Education.org. Mark your calendars and save the date - January 23rd our webinar, “The State of Affairs in Assisted Conception” will be very interesting with Diane Tober and Peter Boni. For a link to the zoom, email RSVP@RightToKnow our sign up to automatically receive the link. Our hotline, 323-TALK-MPE, has been busy. We paired four people with mentors last week, a late discovery adoptee, two donor-conceived people, and one person with an NPE. Consider volunteering to be a mentor and for the holidays, start a sustaining donation to Right to Know. Just $15-$25 a month can make a huge difference and helps to sustain our programs for free. Right to Know is excited to announce we are co-sponsoring with therapist Jana Rupnow and Genetic Counselor Gina Davis with Advocate Genetics an egg-donor-conceived free peer-led support group with the Donor Conceived Community in the new year.

    4 min

  8. 12/03/2021

    Dec 3 Weekly Round Up

    Thank you to everyone who donated on Giving Tuesday! If you’d like to donate, please consider making a monthly sustainable donation ($20 per month can make a huge difference). Washington fertility fraud legislation is moving forward. Thank you to Representative Orwell, Senator Dhingra, and Senator Stanford for your dedication and passion to see fertility fraud legislation passed in Washington. We launched our new education website, www.MPE-Education.org on December first. All of our past Webinars are available for just $12. Our non-CE course listing includes Identity & MPEs, Loss & Grief in MPEs, Psychological & Ethical Implications of MPEs, and Navigating Reunion with MPEs, and Understanding your Ancestry DNA Test Results will be coming out this week. Happy  Hanukkah with their MPE family. Reach out to Right to Know on our hotline, 323 Talk MPE, and we can pair you with someone with a similar experience. Remember, you are not alone.  This Sunday is our Community and Connection event at noon PST with licensed therapist Kate Murphy who will be guiding us in a discussion on BALANCING FAMILY, SECRETS, STRESS, GRIEF, AND THE HOLIDAYS.  Save the date - next Sunday, December 12 is our Webinar: Not My Parent's Child - Genetics, DNA Surprises, Ethical Behaviors with Dr. Collen Berryessa, Brad Ewell, and Wendi Babst. The date of our Summit is changing from September to the end of October or early November 2022 - we'll let you know as soon as we have a firm date.

    4 min
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About

A quick roundup of Right to Know's week. We are a non-profit that advocates for people impacted by DNA surprises and misattributed parentage which can occur due to an adoption, assisted conception, or those conceived from a non-paternal event (NPE) to ensure our fundamental human right to know our genetic identity through education, mental health initiatives, and advocacy.

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