Opening Adoption Records

A detailed Summary of Opening Adoption Records

When a child is adopted, it is standard procedure for a new birth certificate to be issued. On this new certificate the adoptee's new name appears, along with the names of the adoptive parents. All references to the adoptee's birth name, the name of the adoptee's birth parents and the fact of the adoption, are omitted. The original birth certificate is then placed in a confidential court file, is sealed, and becomes unavailable. Although many believe the records should be forever sealed, the practice of allowing records to be opened would prove to help many adoptees discover their biological background and heritage.

Before the active lobbying efforts of adoptive parents organizations in the 1940's, the majority of states maintained open adoption records policies. It was the belief of those who proposed the sealed records that it served the best interest of all parties involved in the adoption. They felt it would protect the adoptive family and the adoptee from feeling the stigma of bastardy. They failed to account for the fact that the adoptee grows up and that may not be what is best for an adult adoptee.

Some psychologists believe that the adoptees inability to confront his

As an adoptee, my desire to open the records is extreme as well. I have always felt a stigma of being different. My adoptive parents had two biological children after my adoption. I am the only adopted child in my family. My desire was so fundamental that I would go around studying strangers for shared physical characteristics, or wonder if someone I knew could be my biological relation. This obsession has diminished over the years, but as a woman of childbearing age there is an entirely new reason to open the records. I was adopted in 1972 and the medical history required to release to an adoptive family was sketchy at best. There were not strict laws or requirements to the type or amount of information a biological parent must release. The information in my records that my adoptive parents received is less than helpful. I have contacted the adoption agency where I was placed, and for a fee, they will open my records and attempt to contact my biological parents. To me this seems to defy the reason behind the sealing of the records. If someone else can open the records and contact my biological parents then I do not see a reason why the adoptee should not be allowed access as well. At least be able to get the information requested without having to pay a fee.

The desire to know the circumstance

Some common words found in the essay are:
Adoption Records, biological parents, adoption records, adoptive parents, adoptive family, parties involved, discover biological, contact biological parents, parties involved adoption, sealed records, birth certificate, adoptee's birth, medical history,

Approximate Word count = 894
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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Opening Adoption Records

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