Story in Globe about CT giving access to birth records

I'm suprised Opus hasn't posted this yet!!!! Anyone see the documentary on VH1 last night about the guy from Run DMC searching for his birthmother? Anyway here is the link and the article below about trying to change the CT law... [url]http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/02/26/bill_would_give_adult_adoptees_access_to_birth_certificates/[/url] Bill would give adult adoptees access to birth certificates By Cara Rubinsky, Associated Press Writer | February 26, 2006 HAMDEN, Conn. --Jerry Kristafer will never forget sitting across from the New Jersey social service worker who held the key to his past. She produced a manila folder containing the identity of his birth parents. And then she told him he had no right to see it. Now Kristafer, a talk show host and program director for WELI-AM radio in Hamden, is speaking out in favor of legislation that would give adopted adults born in Connecticut access to their birth certificates. Currently, adopted adults can only access their original birth certificates if they have a court order. Otherwise, they can get only amended records, which do not list their birth parents. "You grow up, you want to find your roots and you can't," said Kristafer, who has a good relationship with the parents who adopted him. "I was not at peace with myself. The void was bigger than myself." A similar law took effect in New Hampshire last year, and Maine is considering one. Oregon, Alabama, Alaska and Kansas give adoptees over 18 access to their birth certificates. Delaware and Tennessee also allow access, but with some restrictions. In Vermont, original birth certificates are available to people over 18 if adoptions were completed by July 1986. The bill also would allow birth parents to submit forms indicating whether they wish to be contacted. They could also fill out health history forms. The Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union opposes the bill, saying parents who have given their children up for adoption since records were sealed in 1974 did so assuming their identities would remain confidential. "By going back on their promise and making that information available, I think that it will create some significant problems for a system that has really prided itself on confidentiality," said Roger Vann, executive director of the Connecticut ACLU. Vann said he has struggled with the issue on a personal level because he is also adopted. But he said privacy concerns are paramount. "We think that birth parents should always have the option to choose whether their information should be released," Vann said. "At the beginning of the process, when a child is being put up for adoption, you ask the birth parents whether they want their information to be sealed or unsealed." Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford and co-chairman of the Select Committee on Children, which raised the bill, said his committee heard compelling testimony from both birth parents and adopted children. "We had adopted children who don't know who they are," Meyer said. "We heard from people saying that there would not be contentment in their lives until they found out their identity." Among them was Kristafer, who more than 20 years ago spent countless hours playing detective to track down his birth parents. When he found them, he learned he is half Hungarian and half Irish. He has his mother's hands and his father's build. His ancestors lived in an Irish castle. "These are all basic things we have the right to know," he said. "To be told you don't have a right to that, that's just not right." Kristafer had seven years to get to know his birth father, who died 15 years ago. He's still in regular contact with his mother, who was thrilled to see him when he showed up at her door. He also tracked down siblings. A few weren't interested in having a relationship. But he has no regrets. "Did I find the perfect family? No," Kristafer said. "But that's not what you're searching for. We're not seeking another family or to make up for lost time. We're just seeking the truth."