Support Open Records

Adult adoptees deserve to have full access to their records restored.

Closed adoption records are an aberration in the history of humanity. In most other eras and cultures, information about an adoption was known to all parties involved, including the adoptee. Today, the U.S. is one of the few countries where closed adoption is still practiced, and here that practice did not begin until after World War II. In countries where the records are open, such as England, Wales, Germany, and Sweden, studies have shown that the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

In the U.S., five states (Oregon, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Alabama, and Alaska) recognize the adult adoptee's right to access their original birth certificate. Some other states have varying degrees of openness depending on when you were born. And some are still living in the dark ages of secrecy.

Imagine the humiliation of listening to someone else dribble out bits of your life history, from a file you're not even allowed to see! Like all secrets, closed records don't bring families together - they divide them. Adult adoptees deserve access to their original, unaltered birth certificates, the same as all other citizens of the United States.

Critics of open records often cite the birthfamily's right to confidentiality. First, no law guarantees privacy in adoption (see why). Closed records were originally intended to protect both birth and adoptive families from the stigma of illegitimacy, a stigma that has largely faded from our society. Second, no law has the right to prevent two adult human beings from interacting with one another. If someone is contacted and they don't want to be, there are existing laws that protect them from being harassed. Sealing - and, thus, stealing - someone else's past is not a solution. Most adoptees are highly sensitive to the feelings their birthfamily might have about the adoption, and have no wish to intrude. We only want the same access to our records as everyone else.

So this is a plea to the judges, attorneys and adoption professionals, as well as the general public. Please, open our records! They mean nothing to you, and everything to those of us who must live with a question mark where part of our lives should be.

For more information:

adopteerights.org - Open Records: Why It's An Issue

adopteerights.org - Frequently Asked Questions on Open Records

American Adoption Congress

Bastard Nation

Green Ribbon Campaign For Open Records