If An Adult Adoptee, Adoptive parents and First Parents Petition the Court for Access to Adoption Records?

How can the grounds for denial be 'privacy'?

Who's privacy would that be, considering all parties to the adoption are consenting and petitioning?

Why does a portion of society have to beg for crumbs in a courtroom for information about their own lives that other people take for granted? and how on earth is this considered to be "in the Best interests of the Child"?

Sorry, had to ask. The System in the USA is baffling me.

American Adoptee in the UK (wish I'd been born here - records opened to all parties 1974 so catch up you guys)
Additional Details
ETA: Thanks for the great answers and I love Kristy's idea.

Judging from the thumbs down here people who claim to love their adoptees believe in defending discrimination against them!

Yay for the cool adoptive parents who believe adoptees deserve to be treated equally to any other citizen and a huge poke in the eye for the insecure ones who don't give a stuff about their kids' rights.

LaurieDB

Privacy for first parents was never the reason for sealing records in the first place. In the early part of the 20th century, records began sealing in various states. They were sealed from the general public. Some states also sealed them from the FIRST PARENTS, but allowed continued access by the adoptive parents and the adopted person. Sealing was about hiding the adoption and about hiding information in (or not in) the adoption files.

In the 1970's under the Carter Administration, the Model Adoption Act would have given access to original birth certificates BACK to adopted citizens. The Gladney Center adoption agency pulled together its resources to fight this by forming the National Committee for Adoption (now the National Council for Adoption.) The NCFA's main role was to fight open records. They did so by coming up with the argument of "privacy" for first parents, despite such a concept never being part of adoption. Clearly, sealing records from them but not the other members of the triad showed that privacy for first parents was never the intent of the law.

In the states that sealed records (all states except Kansas and Alaska,) the mode of access was normally a court order, often requiring proof of "good cause." "Good cause" is defined subjectively by the court that happens to handle one's petition. It is not objectively defined.

So, although privacy concerns cannot be used when we all know each other, there is a fear on the part of many judges to unseal any record. Despite being happily reunited with my entire first family, the judge denied my petition for my birth certificate. He wrote that the "high burden of good cause had not been met." He was unable to tell me, however, what would constitute "good cause."

No group should be singled out from receiving equal treatment under the law. As long as adopted citizens have to grovel before a judge, get permission from their parents or meet any other requirements not expected of non-adopted citizens, discrimination exists.

Sophie

I don't know. Maybe write to your congress man/woman with that specific question and then present their answer in court.

What about going through the Freedom of Information Act with all three pieces of the triad and the congress person's letter?

It really does sound stupid to me.
---------------
What if we all wrote the Presidential and VP nominees THIS WEEK to ask for this particular kind of change... and CHALLENGE them to bring it up in a televised interview or political debate? I'd be willing to send the letters off if someone could provide me with a good template to use. If you have one for me to use, please send it to me at kmf90@comcast.net. I promise to send them out ASAP.
---------
So, to those who like my idea- let's do it-- but I am not the one who could create the letter... there are far more people out there who know the facts and issues that need to be profiled. I'm willing... are you!?!

sunny

But Heather, it's PRIVACY for the agencies!

Maybe if adoptees, APs, and NPs has lobbyists working 24/7 in D.C., things would change.

The one with the gold makes the rules.

Sly

Interestingly, I have recently called about this very thing, because I cannot obtain a copy of the Signed Surrender (I know it doesn't exist, but the agency keeps telling me I ama wrong,there has to be one and it must, unlike all their others, be sealed with the records) and was told that even if my son, his ap, and I all went and signed papers, we would have to show a "compelling reason" to obtain a court order to open them. Apparently, we all want them is not compelling enough. Big Brother has deemed that we are not intelligent enough to make THESE decisions for ourselves, despite the fact that we are all adults and know each other, but, at 18, drugged and alone, I was supposedly old enough to decide to surrender? Hello?! WTF!!!

The logic of keeping the sealed records closed to the mother is what always got me. Not the information about the aps but are they keeping MY information private from ME? I can't get the Birth Certificate for my son, even though before my rights were terminated I was his mother. I can't even get the Surrender I supposedly signed. What privacy is that. I know who I am. I can look at those papers and guess who i see? ME!!! DUH!!! I know who I am. I don't need to be kept confidential and protected from ME!

Shelly P. Tofu, E.M.T.

absolutely this is ridiculous. I don't understand it either.

If the firstmom wants a DNC (Do not contact) form in the files, so be it. But an adoptee should have access to the files!!

I guess the best we can do is keep fighting..

luckyturtle

I was adopted in OH and have that same problem. I am reunited, and if we all three, myself and both my moms had tried to go get the records, it would have been denied. We just decided to leave it there and know that we are stronger than the idiot laws and we all have each other now.

sizesmith

Maybe with all three parties involved, you can take each of their paperwork, and put the pieces together yourself.

Each person's story must be different, and in reality, in their own eyes, it probably is. Good luck!

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: