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OPENING ADOPTION RECORDS February 11, 1997 |
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Return to the Open Adoption forum's top page.
Questions asked
in this forum:
Would open records mean more custody fights between birth mothers and adoptive parents? How do open records effect rates of adoption and abortion? Should there be a way for adoptees to find out their family health records without making contact with their birth-parents? Not all adoptees want to find their birth-parents. What about adoptees and birth-parents who value their privacy? This topic inspired many emotional stories and comments. View some of the additional comments.
Online NewsHour Links
January 15, 1997: Lee Hochberg looks at the controversy over opening adoption records.
The NewsHour coverage of Youth issues.
OUTSIDE LINKS
Adoption.com seeks to provide a central location for all adoption information.
The American Adoption Congress is working to reverse laws that seal adoption records .
Marlene Raitt of Libby, Montana, asks: I had to give up a child 27 years ago-my father was a very important man in town and I had been raped. I was put in a home for unweds and the child was given away. I would like to know of him and how he did in life but I don't know if I want to meet him. I have real mixed feelings. Is there a way to learn about him without him knowing and find out if he looked for me?
Dr. Anne Babb of the American Adoption Congress responds:
Some states have active or passive adoption reunion registries that will notify birth parents or adoptees (and sometimes adoptive parents) if a relative separated through adoption seeks contact or information. Other states have open records, allowing adoptees access to their birth information for a nominal fee, and the remaining states provide for adoptee access to the birth records by court order. Many birth parents learn that their surrendered children are searching when they are contacted by a confidential intermediary or other person at the behest of the searching adoptee, or by the adoptee him or herself.
Organizations that can help with search information include the following:
International Search Consultants (ISC), Publications, P. O. Box 10192, Costa Mesa CA 92627. ISC publishes search booklets specific to search in most states and in several countries, as well as offering other helpful resources
International Soundex Reunion Registry, ISRR, P. O. Box 2312, Carson City, NV 89702. A confidential and voluntary computerized identification system on an international scale. Service is unpaid, voluntary, and free to user. Send long SASE for registration form.
State Reunion Registries. Many states also offer reunion registries. Birth parents and others interested in knowing what provisions apply in their state of residence and that in which the adoption occurred can obtain this information at the AAC Web site at http://pages.prodigy. com/adoptreform/refrecs.htm. You can also call the state adoption unit and ask for the same information and registration forms, if applicable, while pursuing other options if you so choose.
Agency Reunion Registries. Some agencies, especially large or national agencies, have reunion registries. Be sure to contact the agency through which you were adopted to see if they offer this service. If they do, register but be sure and utilize all other resources as well.
Mr. Bill Pierce of the National Council for Adoption responds:
Marlene, my heart goes out to you. Rape is a terrible experience. It is perfectly normal for you to wonder about the young man who was once an innocent baby who you gave the precious gift of life to.
My suggestion is for you to contact either the home for unwed mothers where you stayed or, if you know the name of the agency or attorney who arranged the adoption, that party and tell them that you are interested in knowing what has become of that child.
Agencies and attorneys frequently get update letters from adoptive parents, telling how the child is doing. It may very well be that some information on the child has been shared with the agency or attorney and that this information will help ease your concerns. On the other hand, you should be aware that if you open this door, it may not be able to be closed. You speak of "mixed feelings," which are very normal. All of us feel ambivalent about potential developments that may bring a mixture of happiness and pain.
I would strongly urge you to speak to some pro-adoption counselor (call NCFA to speak to me and I will try to give you a recommendation) before you proceed, given the fact that you have "mixed feelings," a counselor can help you sort things out for yourself before you go forward.
After the counseling step, then you can decide to use the various legal steps available to you. Keep in mind that if he is the average 27-year-old adopted man he will not be searching. Very few search, as a percentage of those who were adopted. And of those who do search, men are much less likely than women to search.
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