A newspaper in Indiana is fighting to open adoption records in Indiana in a specific adoption case. A law is currently being considered in the state as well to make it a misdemeanor to accept anything of value for arranging surrogate births in the state.

The Indianapolis Star on Thursday filed a petition to open records in the case, which is pitting Indiana's adoption secrecy law against the public's right to know how the courts do business.

Their efforts to open adoption records in Indiana is detailed in this story as the Indiana Court of Appeals reviews the case of a 60-year old man who hired a surrogate to have twin daughters for him. You might remember this story.

The adoptive dad of the now two-year old twins showed up at the hospital to visit the girls in the neonatal unit shortly after their birth with a live bird under the sleeve of his shirt jacket. Yep, that's what I said, a bird! His behavior made hospital workers suspicious. He showed up to visit the two babies he was adopting with a live bird in hand.

There were questions at the time about his suitability to raise the girls, yet apparently he was deemed fit. Now, there is a secret investigation into this case, and some state adoption laws may change as a result. We can hope they will at least!

The adoptive dad in this scenario paid a surrogate to give birth for him. The whole surrogacy route is one fraught with potential hazards. Surrogates often bond with babies that they carry just like biological mothers do. There is something about sharing the intimate space within your body with a growing living baby-to-be that can be a bonding experience.

However, the issues in this case involve whether the man who hired the surrogate was a suitable parent. Maybe if he had not showed up at the hospital with bird in hand, this would never have received media coverage. He was 60 years old though - isn't that too old for nearly anyone to begin parenting newborns? If he had been a grandparent who was tragically needed, it would be an entirely different story. He paid a woman to birth babies for him. The whole surrogacy issue is another case of messing with mother nature that can end up very badly.