Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has repealed a controversial rule that critics said would make it easier for New Yorkers to obtain an abortion than to adopt a baby from a biological mother in another state.
The Jan. 5 decree stipulates that financial assistance can only be given 60 days before a baby’s birth and within 30 days of birth, which advocates say severely hampers assistance to biological mothers. expressed dissatisfaction.
The rules also cover adoptions involving birth mothers who live outside of New York, making New York one of the strictest adoption states in the nation.
Critics were also furious that state residents who wanted babies would be unfairly disadvantaged.
Supporters blasted the restrictions, saying they conflicted with the state’s liberal abortion rights policies.
But the state Department of Children and Family Services rescinded the order in a March 13 letter after an outcry from adoptive parents and their attorneys reported in the Post.
“The New York State Department of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is writing this letter to provide an update regarding the attached letter dated January 5, 2024 regarding the amount of payments permissible to birth parents in connection with a legal adoption. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC),” the memo from Deputy Secretary of Child Welfare and Community Services Gail Geohagen Pratt said.
“Adoptive parents shouldn’t have to deal with the possibility of having their baby taken away because of bureaucratic stupidity,” he said.
Samantha Siddiqui, executive director of the New York Adoption Coalition, said the “turnaround” is a good start.
Siddiqui said the governor and Legislature need to approve broader adoption-friendly legislation.
“New York is not very adoption friendly,” she says.
