Bradley’s help in adoption dispute should be lauded
Back in June, U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley picked up the phone in Washington, D.C., called Allyson Schaff in Stratham and asked "How can I help?" With four simple words, he renewed Allyson’s faith in the political system.
Bradley was moved to contact Schaff after reading a newspaper article about her efforts on behalf of 250 U.S. families caught in a quagmire of red tape and political maneuvering while trying to bring home the Romanian children they had already been granted approval to adopt.
Romanian president Ion Iliescu recently signed a bill into law to bar most foreign adoptions of his country’s children. Under the new legislation, children can be adopted by foreigners only if they are the child’s grandparents and only if a search for Romanian adoptive families has failed. While some have criticized the new law as an effort by the government to curry favor with the European Union that will have a devastating effect on the children in Romania’s orphanages, some have praised it for helping to curb black-market sales of babies.
But while the debate continues, thousands of U.S. and European families, who had already been approved by both their home governments and the Romanian government to adopt a child, have seen the final stages of the adoption process grind to a halt, with no promise that they will ever be allowed to bring home the child who was to become a member of their family.
Apparently, when Jeb Bradley offers his help, he really means it. With the representative’s support, Schaff has recently gotten the attention of the Romanian prime minister, state officials and U.S. and Romanian ambassadors. After that first phone call and learning more about her situation, Bradley met with Schaff in D.C. the very next day. He attended meetings with her, used his clout to get the ear of high-ranking Romanian officials, wrote a letter to all members of the House and Senate that attracted the attention and support of President Bush and even gave Schaff and Carla Boudreau the use of a desk, telephone and computer in his office and valuable contact information that afforded access to the power players on Capitol Hill.
Too often, our perceptions of the men and women who represent us in our nation’s capital are negative (not without reason) - dishonest, elitist, pandering. But when Jeb Bradley asked Allyson Schaff, "How can I help?," he proved himself a man of his word. And not only did he help one woman embroiled in a very personal struggle, he helped to restore her, and by extension our, faith.
Somewhere in the far-reaching outskirts of Budapest, a little girl named Natasha lives in a group home for orphaned children. In Stratham, Allyson Schaff continues her two-year fight to bring little Natasha into her family’s life and home. It is our sincere hope that, with Bradley’s invaluable help, Allyson and Natasha will one day be mother and daughter.
- The Portsmouth Herald