Senator Collins Congratulates 2021 Maine Angels in Adoption Honorees from Aroostook County

Click HERE for a high-resolution photo of Senator Collins speaking with the Morningstar family.  Click HERE for a high-resolution photo of the Morningstar family. 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with Dr. Peter and Bridget Morningstar of Caribou, whom she nominated as 2021 Angels in Adoption Honorees for their inspiring efforts to adopt nine children, including a family of seven.  Senator Collins is a member of the Congressional Adoption Caucus.  

“As adoptive parents, Bridget and Peter Morningstar have selflessly opened their home and their hearts to children in need of a stable and loving environment,” said Senator Collins.  “They are an inspiration to the Caribou community as well as to the entire State of Maine, and I was delighted to nominate them for this award for which they were chosen.  Their recent decision to adopt a local family of seven children so that the brothers and sisters could stay together speaks volumes to their compassion and kindness.”

Peter is a pediatrician at Aroostook Pediatrics, and Bridget is a trained epidemiologist who stays home to raise their ten children, who range in age from age six to mid-twenties.  The Morningstars have one biological child and also adopted through a private adoption and an international adoption.  In 2018, they began the process of adopting a local family of seven children.  Peter and Bridget were fostering three of the siblings when a more permanent plan became necessary for all seven children.  After hearing from the kids that they all wanted to stay together, Bridget and Peter offered to adopt the children living with other foster families.  In November 2020, Bridget and Peter adopted all seven children.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) raises awareness about the tens of thousands of orphans and foster children in the United States as well as the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent homes.  CCAI coordinates the Angels in Adoption program, which has honored 2,900 Angels during its 23-year history, including 71 Angels this year.

+++

Senator Collins is a co-sponsor of the Adoptee Citizenship Act, a bipartisan bill that would close a loophole that has prevented internationally-adopted children, who are now adults, from receiving U.S. citizenship despite being raised by American parents.

###