An independent voice for ethical adoption
Report shows misconceptions stymie equality for adoptees by keeping records closed
From the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute:
In its continuing effort to improve law, policy and practice so that “all adopted people can achieve equal treatment with their non-adopted peers,” the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute today released a major report recommending that every state enact legislation restoring the right of all adult adoptees to access their own original birth certificates (OBCs).
“For the Records II: An Examination of the History and Impact of Adult Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates” is based on a years-long examination of relevant judicial and legislative documents; of decades of research and other scholarly writing; and of the concrete experiences of states and countries that have either changed their laws to provide these documents or never sealed them at all.
Among the findings in the 46-page Policy Brief, which updates and expands the Institute’s November 2007 report, “For the Records: Restoring a Right for Adult Adoptees,” are:
- Barring adopted adults from access to their OBCs wrongly denies them a right enjoyed by all others in our country, and is not in their best interests for personal and medical reasons.
- Alternatives such as mutual consent registries are ineffective and do not meet adoptees’ needs.
- The vast majority of birthmothers don’t want to be anonymous to the children they relinquished.
The recommendations in the Institute’s new Policy Brief include:
- Every “closed” state should unseal OBCs for all adult adoptees, retroactively and prospectively.
- States that already provide limited OBC access should revise laws to include all adult adoptees.
- No professional should promise women anonymity from the children they place for adoption.
Access the full article here.
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