Sen. McCaskill supports adoptees finding their first parents

Sen. Clair McCaskill and Philomena Lee

When I become frustrated with the slow pace of adoption reform, when I read Lorraine's account of New York judges opposed to allowing adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates, when I hear them trot out the need to protect women in their 60's and 70's from their "sins' committed decades ago, I have to remember that the course of change never runs smooth.  We need to celebrate every forward step.

Thus Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill's embrace of Philomena Lee, the Irish mother forced by nuns to give up her son for adoption to an American couple comes as good news. "Philomena's story is heart-wrenching, and she has one of the most just causes you could possibly have--the simple premise that if a child is taken from a mother against her will, there should be an easy way to reconcile

The Women's Vote makes all the difference!

Paul Beaty/AP   Tammy Duckworth and husband Byran Bowlsbey and supporters election night

Reproductive rights won on election night in America! A decisive women's vote help propel pro-choice President Obama to victory. The gender gap in the vote was a whooping 18 points, even bigger than the 12 point gap in 2008.

But it wasn't just the White House where pro-choice women roared back with their vote against an attack on reproductive freedom. Two Republican candidates for the Senate who appeared to be on track to election were derailed when they couldn't help themselves from revealing their true feelings about pregnancies that result from rape--either impossible or "god's will." Not only were they defeated, other anti-choice candidates went down with them.