Please, just don’t…

I wish people wouldn’t write about something they obviously know nothing of, and are just assuming…

Are Adoption Reunions at Young Age Good or Bad?

“You’ve likely heard stories from adult adoptees that have gone on a search for their birth family at the age of 18. A lot of those people grew up in a time where adoption records were sealed so they had to wait until the age of 18 to know anything about their adoption.”

To the best of my knowledge, adoption records are sealed in all states.  Today, I believe you get a certified copy of the adoption order.  The court documents of the adoption are sealed.  The adoption order instructs vital records to create an amended birth certificate, and then seals the original birth certificate away.

Please don’t confuse adoption records with the original birth certificate – they are different, very different.

There is no factual basis for stating that adoptees had to wait until the age of 18 to know anything about their adoption.  Adoptees when they turn 18 can’t just wander down to the court-house to view their court files, nor can most order their original birth certificates.

Only a handful of states allow the adult adoptee to receive their original birth certificate today.  Two states, Kansas and Alaska never denied the adult adoptee the right to their original birth certificate.  Oregon, Illinois, New Hampshire, Washington, Colorado, etc., have restored rights but that has only happened within the last fifteen years.  Note very few of the states have clean laws, and that’s a problem as not all adoptees born in the state are treated equally, which is actually what adoptee rights is, being equal.

Those states that have restored the rights to all, or some adoptees, only did it thanks to adoptee rights groups, some working tirelessly for decades.  The changes in the laws didn’t happen because of open adoptions, or the majority of adoption professionals, many of whom actively worked against adoptee rights legislation, and still do.

Most states still deny adult adoptee’s their original birth certificates.  Some, perhaps many of those same states will still deny the adoptees of this generation when they become adults, and just because you have a copy of the original birth certificate – your adopted child will still have no legal right to their very own factual birth certificate when they become adults.

So instead of spreading misinformation – take a stand, learn facts, ask the adoptee rights groups in your state how you can help, and then work towards getting CLEAN adoptee rights legislation passed into law so ALL adoptee’s born in your state, have the right to access and receive their original birth certificate.