There is a lot of love involved in adoption- the love to carry and relinquish, the love to adopt and nurture. It's a great human concept that triad members lives, especially the adoptee rights have been affected. The love and good intentions of many individuals are many times hindered by a state that makes it difficult to obtain information about their natural families. By the time the child searches, he or she is an adult in a system that in many states have laws enacted that do not permit the adult adoptee, or denies the adoptee the rights based on an agreement that was made... more

The move to open adoption records is currently underway in several states. For the past 3 years or so, I have been following the attempts fairly closely. Since I am on several different adoption list and news groups, I receive posts from different sources about open records legislation in the news.

I began to notice that some of my emails sought to enlist my support for legislation in certain states and others were against the same legislation. At first I was puzzled until I realized that there is a divide amongst open records proponents.

Some backers of open records legislation... more

A CT bill has passed the senate to allow adoptees at the age of 18 to learn who their natural mother is has reported on WTNH a local station in Hartford, CT. The link is http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=4786201&nav=3YeX

The Senate Bill number is SB 4 and was introduced and referred to the Joint State Government Committee on February 8, 2006 and a public hearing was held on February 10, 2006. The bill passed the senate on April 18, 2006 and is on the House calendar number 395.

If passed... more

Ancestry.com is a valuable resource for both genealogists and adoption searchers. Family history research is an effort to find one's roots whether one is adopted or not. It is an attempt to fit together the pieces of one’s life, and therefore, Genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States.

In a recent issue of a free weekly journal that Ancestry.com publishes, the subject was "Preserving Access to Records: What Can you do?" Juliana Smith covered some important points in this... more

I have given you some links for supporters of open records in a previous post, and now I will direct you to the supporters of the "other" side of the movement. The most vocal opponent of open records is a group called the National Council for Adoption (NCFA). NCFA was originally founded by Ruby Lee Piester, then executive director of what is now the Gladney Center for Adoption.

Here is part of their position on the open records' debate:

The right to maintain or waive one’s... more

Adoptee rights activists protest sealed records at the Honk if You're My Daddy rally outside Century City in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 2nd.

Photo courtesy of David Winge, a founding member of Bastard Nation

The open records' debate is in full swing right now and legislation is currently being considered to unseal adoption records in several states. Grass roots efforts are preparing in many other states as well. For those of you who may not know, the biggest adoptees' rights' group is called Bastard Nation ("BN"). I respect and like their mission, but, I am... more

I believe that in my previous post regarding accessing original birth certificates, I used an incorrect term in mentioning the DE legislation that was passed several years ago. The DE law that provides access to the original birth certificate does NOT contain a “contact preference” but rather is referred to as a “disclosure veto” in the legislation.

The difference between a contact veto and a disclosure veto is that a disclosure veto is a document filed by one party to register a refusal to the release of any identifying information. A contact veto is a document filed... more

If you know anything about adoption searching in the U.S., you know that it can be quite a chore. Some states are much easier to search in than others as access to adoption records in our country varies greatly from state to state. In some states, access is even different from county to county. Trying to wade through all the bureaucratic obstacles to obtain adoption records can often be a frustrating and burdensome challenge.

In the past 4-5 years, I have met many adoptees and birth parents who are searching and/or in reunion. After many discussions about search and reunion,... more

When an adoption is finalized, a new birth certificate for the child is issued to the adoptive parents. The original birth certificate is then sealed and kept confidential. Often times a copy of the original birth certificate can not be received unless the laws in the state permit it or under a court order.

As of late, the laws are changing to allow access to the original birth certificates and the statistics speak for themselves.

For example, in DE legislation was passed many years ago that provides access to the original birth certificate. The legislation... more