AN ADOPTED WOMAN TALKS BACK

Adopted adults are fighting for the right to request and receive our original birth certificates with no conditions or falsifications. In a free society, states cannot hold on to their power to withhold our identity information from us. We are adopted men and women – not enemies of the state.

The state governments must get out of the search and reunion business. They must also get out of the business of gathering our medical information. If we wish, we can do all of these things on our own.

§ We are not asking for anyone in the government or private sector to help us find our first parents.

§ We are not asking for anyone in the government or private sector to plan or mediate reunions between us and any other person on this planet.

§ We are not asking for anyone in the government or private sector to secure medical information for us.

§ We are not asking for anyone in the government or private sector to tell us which relatives are okay and which are not okay to associate with.

The states should be and indeed they are in the ADOPTION business, because it is important to find permanent homes for children who need them. That’s good. But once we homeless children reach the age of majority, the states should wish us a good life and say goodbye. They really must stop interfering in our lives forever!

The only way to accomplish this change is for the legislatures to repeal the antiquated sealed records section of their laws. Then we adoptees will once again be free to access the records of our birth. That’s all we are asking.