Adult adoptees can confront the question of where they come from as well as the need for information regarding their birth parents and families in order to obtain needed medical history. After many years of denying adoptees access to viewing their records, some states are beginning to change their positions and allow these persons the chance to learn more about themselves.
Identification
"Open adoption records" encompasses various sealed and confidential records such as court records of the adoption, the original, unamended birth certificate, the social worker's case notes and adoption agency case records.
Some who are opposed to having adoption records opened state that allowing these records to be opened will set a precedent for the opening of other confidential records--such as medical records. Adult adoptees state that those who have not been adopted have easy access to their vital statistics records, such as their marriage and birth certificates.
History
The results of prior decades of secrecy and closed adoptions created a stigma, leaving adoptees believing there was something shameful and wrong with their biological background or with them.
In the 1970s, societal pressure began urging adoption agencies and social workers to complete adoptions and leave the records open for the birth parents and adoptive child to view. This pressure increased through the 1990s as adoption became viewed as less of a "shame" for the adoptee and birth mother. During this time, birth mothers and adult adoptees began demanding a change in the laws in different states throughout the country.
Function
Adoptees want to have equal access to their vital statistics records, just as non-adoptees do. As some states' laws are currently written, denying adult adoptees access to their records serves to create a separate--minority--class of citizens, who are denied access to their records by virtue of a legal act approved by a judge several decades ago.
Adoptees who live in a state that grants open inspection of adoption records--Tennessee, Alaska, Hawaii and Kansas--can request the chance to view the original birth certificate listing their birth parents' names and the place of birth. They can request and obtain information about medical history on both sides of their birth parents' families.
Considerations
Granting an adult adoptee the right to access his original adoption records is a different procedure from opening previously sealed adoption records. Should the adoptee or his birth parents need access in states that do not allow open adoption records, they must obtain a court order. Another option is for states to undergo what is called a "search and consent" procedure, where the adoptee and/or birth parent is contacted to determine if either one is willing to have their identity revealed.
Benefits
Adoptive children who want detailed knowledge--or who have a need for this knowledge--can benefit by having easy, open access to their adoptive records. Being able to access and view the records allows them to get one step closer to finding out vital information, so they can inform their doctors and obtain the most appropriate medical treatment when necessary.
Adult adoptees may also want to get to know their birth parents without spurning their adoptive parents. This helps them answer the very real questions of who they are, where they come from and why they have the traits they have.
