How Can There Be False Birth Certificates? Help!

Cherokee-Angel, Your birth day and birth year were changed? How outrageous! I understand withholding birth parents' names. I understand not telling you who the attending doctor was. I can even understand, to a degree, the omission of some of a person's heritage. However, I can't fathom anyone lying about the day and year of someone's birth! That is unbelievable, unjust, criminal, cruel, and absolutely evil. Have you sued the state, agency, and/or hospital? That is an unacceptable violation of your entire being. I'm so sorry that you have had to endure such a scandalous situation. Apparently there are many people who have experienced the same treatment. I just don't understand!! Sincerely, Andrea

IT IS THE MOST BAZAAR THING,I DON'T THINK THERES MUCH OF ANYTHING I CAN DO,OTHER THAN TAKE WHAT I GOT AND GO ON IN LIFE.I GUESS ITS ALL LEGAL,AND I AM SURE IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY.ONLY ONE GOOD THING I KNOW OF CAME OUT OF ALL THIS,I'M A YEAR YOUNGER THAN WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS:) CHEROKEE_ANGEL

I was flabbergasted when I found this out. My adoption bordered on being illegal. The lawyer (now deceased) was well known for being sneaky and covering his tracks. My A.Parents are horribly opposed to searching. I am totally alone in this. I have an amemded BC and am not quite sure how to get the original. I've heard of petitioning the courts, won't my A.Parents be notified? I absolutely don't want them involved, too much pressure and fighting. What info I had now may be wrong if my Birth date was changed. I would not put it past them (a.parents) to have ok'd this date chaning idea.

Sorry to hear that your a. parents are not supportive of your search. That must be very difficult for you! About your question regarding whether or not your a. parents must give permission for info. to be given to you. I believe that depends on your age and the state where you were born. I know that in Nebraska, if you are over 25, you do not need your adoptive parents to consent. Still, you need the birth mother to give her okay. But . . . some states work very differently. Perhaps you should ask the search guru for information. I wish you luck! Take care. --- AJ

I went through the agency that handled my adoption. First I received my non id information and then I had them do a search for biofamily. I am currently exchanging letters with bioDad and half-sister. Thus far, the non id information that was in the file has been verified by my bioDad. The information in the files will be as accurate as the information that was given by bioParents and also as accurate as the ability of the social worker to take correct notes. The social worker that helped me said that there have been cases where incorrect information was given to conceal true identities. In my case, there was quite a bit of information and it has proven to be true and accurate. My birth certificate is an amended birth certificate listing my aparents as having given birth. It does have the name of the attending M.D. It's pretty obvious that it is an amended birth certificate as it was issued 2 1/2 years after my birth, a couple weeks after the final adoption decree was entered. I am presently filling out an application with the Illinois Adoption Registry, Illinois Department of Public Health. This is the first step in obtaining my original birth certificate. My bioDad will need to fill out a form also and then I should receive it. Best of Luck to you! :)

Thesearchguru has posted helpful information for search resources in each state. I noticed in a previous post you said your adoption took place in Indiana. If you have a specific question, you might contact thesearchguru directly. She has helped many people on the forum. Here's the information she posted for Indiana. Best of Luck! :) Indiana Searching Resources WELCOME TO THE SEARCH AND REUNION MESSAGE BOARD! If you know what adoption agency handled your adoption contact them for information from your adoption file that will help you with your search. If you were a private adoption or do not know the name of the adoption agency contact this office: Indiana Division of Family and Children 402 Washington Street, Room W-364 Indianapolis, IN 46201 (317) 232-4769 Fax: (317) 232-4436 World Wide Web: [url]http://www.state.in.us/fssa/adoption[/url] E-mail: ningle@fssa.state.in.us INFORMATION THAT IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR STATE: Non-identifying informationӔ is information from your adoption file about your birth parents. It generally includes ages, marital status, states of birth, education, religion, occupations and a physical description of your birth parents. It should also include the reason for relinquishment and may include information about your aunts, uncles and grandparents. It is called non-identifying informationӔ because it does not include any identifying information such as names, addresses or social security numbers. If you already have your non-identifying information but it is information given to your adoptive parents at the time of your adoption you should re-apply for the non-identifying information. Agencies are giving out much more comprehensive information now that they did in the past. Mutual Consent RegistryӔ is a registry where adoptees and birth parents can register the adoption information. If both parties register normally the agency responsible for the registry will notify both parties that consent has been given to contact each other. The Mutual Consent Registry can be used by adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, relatives of deceased adoptees and relatives of deceased birth parents. Contact this office for more information: Indiana Adoption History Registry Indiana State Department of Health, Vital Statistics 2 North Meridian Street, Section B-4 Indianapolis, IN 46206-1964 (317) 233-7523 Many blessings on your search journey, Colleen Buckner, THE SEARCH GURU Adoption Genealogist Moderator for Search and Reunion Message Board [url]http://www.adoptionforums.com[/url] [url]http://www.adoptionchat.com[/url] [url]http://www.adoptionlists.com[/url] [url]http://www.adoption.com[/url] [url]http://www.adopting.org[/url] [url]http://www.adoptionregistry.com[/url]

HI ALL...I TOO AM SUSPECIOUS ...IS MY BIRTHDATE CORRECT? LISTEN TO THIS.......I WAS BORN ON THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING.....MY BROTHER THE FIRST DAY OF FALL....MY SISTER THE DAY BEFORE LEAP YEAR AND MY COUSINS IS ON APRIL FOOLS DAY. IF THESE ARE FAKE.....THIS IS SICK. JANET

Thank you for your response. I am glad to hear that your agency was correct about your background info. I was also adopted through an agency, and my a. mom feels it is trustworthy. I guess I got a bit spooked a few weeks ago after having read a number of posts that indicated "misinformation" had been given on their amended birth certificates. That was a shock. Still, my adoption agency has always been a reputable one. I need to remember that. As a matter of fact, I am waiting for non-identifying paperwork to be sent to me from my adoption agency in Nebraska. Am keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks again. Take care!

I think the amount of misinformation that ended up on amended BC's depended on where the birth and adoption took place and what agency handled the adoption. I've done some pretty extensive reading on adoption searches and this seems to be verified by the authors of these books. The rationale? To keep the parties of the adoption from every being able to locate each other. Did they do it maliciously? Who knows, but even in CA when I was adopted in 1971, they told my bmom certain things and my aparents other "details" that I have since confirmed are TOTALLY untrue. I agree with the poster who said assume truth until proven otherwise. EDUCATE yourself; read every book, paper, article re: adoption searches and adoptions through your agency. Try to figure out if the practices were standardized. Think outside the box; if you have a MD's name on your amended BC, try to find him. I found the MD who delivered me; he didn't retain the records but it was worth a shot and I got a very supportive letter from him in return which helped fuel my desire to continue. I learned everything I could about the attorney who handled the adoption; I looked up every shred of info on him, his wife, his daughter, and his practice. I probably knew more about the guy than most of his friends! My point here is, NO ONE IS GOING TO PASSIONATELY PURSUE YOUR SEARCH LIKE YOU!!! Leave no stone unturned; you never know if the most insignificant detail will be the one that "cracks the case" for you. I, for one, would not depend on a state CI or social worker to handle one of the most delicate and diplomatically sensitive situations of my life. There is good info on searches out there but you have to be zealously committed to seeing your search through. It's your search; it's your history...if the sealed records situation makes you angry, make your voice heard. Sign the on-line petition on the link in my signature line. Wishing you well on your journey...B

It could be a long shot but is there anyway an adoptee can find their Birth Doctors thru a Doctors registry or medical listing? Surely there should be someone who is a nurse or Doctor on the forum who would know. :rolleyes:

I found my own listing on the CA Birth Index; I don't know how other states work but CA maintains a complete index of all births. In my case, I knew my birth first name; no last name, but I had other clues. I knew I had a brother probably born in the same county as myself and I knew he was born in October 1968. I scanned the possibles; their were only 2 "Michelles" born on my birthdate in my county with a match in October 1968 male baby boy with a mother with the same maiden name. I then ordered the birth certificate for who I thought was my brother (he was not adopted therefore his BC was public information). Turned out to be correct, I was able to verify my birth mother's location and month and year of birth(info that was in my "non-id information" from the Department of Social Services--the agency that handled my adoption) and thus found out my birth mother's name. I don't know how easy it would be to do that without quite a few other clues. I luckily had enough to solve the riddle...I wept when I opened my brother's birth certificate and read his name and my birth mother's name for the first time. Hope some of that helps...best of luck, B

I, too, have my suspicions about my non-identifying info and amended BC. I was given info that completely negated everything I have been told already by my a-folks. I was part of a search group years ago, and they were all abuzz...several of them had found out that the woman who was supposed to give them their non-id info had lied, they had found out AFTER finding their bio-folks that everything had been wrong. This is the same woman I went through!! So frustrated....HELP.

Sue the state? Who do you think passed the law allowing it? My daughters ABC allowed changes of name, birthplace, birth date, and parents' names and addresses. The only thing unchanged was vital statistics -- sex, weight, birth order, etc. So my Hispanic daughter who came to this country at the age of 4 was born in this country, to me, four years before I met her! Also, years later when I was adopting the Karate Kid, I was advised to change his birth date so that if the bios tried to use his SS# they would not have the correct identification information.

There is overwhelming agreement that Black Market in the trafficking of children still exists.Trafficking in children although prevalent in the '30's and 40's was a part of adoption. No one wanted these children. What happened to them didn't matter.Society classified the b-moms as "fast" and the children as "feeble minded."It was an adults world and illegitimate children had little value except as a commodity that could be sold. After all, who could possibly object to orphaned children remaining in an orphanage and having no family whenthere were the benefits of a new family able to provide more opportunities and a better life style than the b-parents. As long as the a-parents could buy a child, their integrity wasn't of much concern.The shared stories of the 5 black market adoptees that I have contacted, are the same. No searches have been completed.All of us have an OBC containing falsified information. Although "our" hospital held itself out as a sanctuary for young unmarried b-moms, the goal was adoption to wealthy, childless couples.Children could be ordered by gender to meet certain physical or religious characteristics. Attempts were made to insure that jewish children were placed with jewish families. Children of Italian extraction whose physical characteristics closely matched those of italians were given up to those families, etc.Once the child was born, the hospital assumed all responsibility for hospital expenses, court costs, and lawyers fees.To insure there could never be any tracing of the b-parents, the names were changed. Original birth certificates carried the falsified names of the b-parents.In our state, it was a business, nothing more. B-moms were relieved of the responsibility of their children, the hospital made money, the courts accepted what the birth circumstances were, and everyone was happy. There were no home study courses, or child laws. There were few questions. Those with money could have instant children.As times changed and b-moms became more able to care for their children, those children available to black market placements became less and less. The prices soared and no longer were there many attempts to match children and a-parents.Today there are no longer back rooms and private clinics where b-moms can be housed and children collected and sold. All adoptions now are held out as being legitimate. When in fact, there has been a regulation of hospitals but not necessarily complete changes in state laws. There were still opportunities to use the secrecy of the dark side to falsify birth records.Even now there are still many options open to couples interested in obtaining children through false adoption circles. The difference now is one on one. You have a known connection to complete the adoption it is no longer wholesale trafficking as before. There were no concerns regarding international adoption, although in the late '20's there was interest in english children. This didn't last long.Hopefully changes in adoption will continue to be more open and concerned with how the adoptee will view their own circumstances.For some adoptees, there will always be stories that have no ending. We are the lost children of a different era.I wish you the best.

I believe the date on my BC was changed. I found my Bmom and she didn't remember the date I was born but knew it was a certain holiday. I looked up that holiday from that year and the date is 2 days before the date on my BC. It isnt bad enough that they lie about the parent's names, but they lied about the date too! Luckily my Bmom had an unusual last name and I was able to find her anyway.