The photo accompanying this post is the State Capitol of Tennessee, the state where I grew up. Tennessee is one of the few states where an adoptee can get their original birth certificate at age 21. Their state law does allow for the birth certificates to be restricted, however, if a veto is in the file from a birth parent.

I found this article at adoption.com which gives some background information about how the quest to open the records in Tennessee was inspired. The journey began with a need that Caprice East had for medical information.

Opponents of open records are quoted in the article with worries that the Tennessee case would cause records to open all over the country. All sorts of dire predictions about what catstrophic events would occur if the records were opened. It was theorized that adoptions would decrease, yet statistics have shown that this has not happened in any state that has opened records.

The records were opened in Tennessee in 1999 after the case was heard in the Supreme Court of Tennessee. The Supreme Court of the United Stated refused to hear the matter. The domino effect hoped for with the opening of records in Tennessee has not occurred. Neither have the negative predictions of those who oppose open records.

The adoption.com article referenced above discusses not only the origins of the journey to gain access in Tennessee but also highlights both sides of the adoption records' debate. Not everyone agrees that adoptees should have access to their birth records at majority. Many people still have little understanding that access to adoption records is sought only for adoptees. If access is allowed, only adoptees gain access.

The numbers of proponents of open records is growing. This Cornell University Study which was completed ten years ago suggests that the majority of adoptive parents support open records. As the numbers of open adoptions increase, the matter of access to adoption records will eventually become moot. We are not there yet. It will take many decades for that to happen.