A Right to Know: the fight for adoptee access

[MPatrylo]

There is always risk when a reunion occurs. My sister's reunion with her German birth mother ended negatively. For me, I know the name, ID number, and last known address (1952) of my German birth mother, but have been unable to obtain any info on her present status/whereabouts. I'd like to tell her that everything turned out great, and that she should have no regrets about a tough decision. I encourage all to watch David's journey in Jean's "For the Life Of Me" video for other perspectives.

[TerrieJo53]

As does yours. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this matter.



[JeanStrauss1955]

@TerrieJo53

My position does not lack compassion. A birthparent can have their name redacted. You would have ALL adopted citizens denied access because of your presumption that a woman would choose to have an abortion if she knew the child she was carrying would be allowed access as an adult - yet there is no evidence this has ever happened in the states that do allow access (like Kansas, which has NEVER sealed records). You are making a specious argument not based on facts.

[TerrieJo53]

The problem with access is that once the adoptee has their full birth certificate with the name of the birth parents there is nothing to prevent them from contacting the people named on the certificate. This contact is not always welcomed. I don't lack compassion. My compassion is for the woman who was promised privacy when she gave her child up for adoption. Black out the parents names before issuing the birth certificate or don't give them the birth certificate.

[JeanStrauss1955]

@TerrieJo53

The New Jersey law allows birthparents the ability to redact their names - but a very limited number of birthparents ever exercise the 'black out' which you suggest - less than a quarter of one percent.

Adoptees find birthparents every day without having their birth record. This has everything to do with human dignity - and if you haven't lived with being denied access to information about yourself, you don't know what it can feel like. Your compassion seems to be one sided.

[TerrieJo53]

While I sympathise with the adoptee I feel it is a violation of the privacy of the woman who gave the child up for adoption. If I thought I might someday have my world turned upside down by having a stranger I gave birth to show up on my doorstep it might have changed my mind about adoption in favor of abortion

[JeanStrauss1955]

@TerrieJo53

You are mistaking access to records with reunion. This is about all citizens having equal access to information about themselves. Adopted citizens are seeking access to the record of their own birth. I find it hard to believe that any compassionate human being would watch this film - watch Joel getting his record - and not understand why this is important. This has nothing to do with abortion and everything to do with compassion and treating citizens equally.

[accessamerica]

The State Of Connecticut needs to watch this video and learn from it and stop the secrets of the adoptions and pass a open records adoption law for those adoptees that want to know who they are.

I am one of those adopted children that was born and lived in CT most of my life and was fortunately enough to be able to find out  who I was in 2003 with help from the private sector investigative professionals my wife and I had hired and along with the CT probate court system it all came together .

[JeanStrauss1955]

People who choose to reach out to birth family members do face the unknown, and those who are rejected can be devastated. But this film is not about reunion - its about adopted citizens being denied access to information about themselves. Its about changing a system that imposed a lifetime of secrecy on the very people that it was supposed to serve.