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Bill would give adopted kids more rights
By Michelle Muellenberg/ Daily News Staff
Sunday, April 2, 2006
State Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, said she believes adopted children should have the same rights as anyone else.
Right now, they don't.
For nearly a decade, Fargo, other state legislators and advocates have pushed a bill to change that.
For the past nine years, Fargo has sponsored the Senate bill, called ABC, or Access to Birth Certificates, but it has never made it to the floor of either the House or Senate.
"These adopted children, with one exception, are the only group of people in the state that can't get access to their information," said Don Siriani, Fargo's chief of staff. The only other group are people in the witness protection program, he said.
"It is a benefit for someone to know who they are and what they are made of as far as biological relatives," Siriani said. "This is really about the identity and dignity of these adoptive children."
In previous years, the bill has gone before the Judiciary Committee. This year, it is being discussed by the new Joint Committee on Children and Families.
If enacted, the bill would entitle an adopted person at least 18 years old or an adoptive parent of a child under 18 to request an original copy of a birth certificate. The bill also includes a provision allowing the birth parents to give consent to be contacted or not. The state law currently requires a court order to unseal birth records, often putting adopted people at the mercy of judges.
"Some justices will grant it and some won't," Fargo said. "It is a very uneven system."
Fargo has seen firsthand the good of having birth records unsealed.
She and her husband have an adopted daughter.
"She had a lot of questions about who she was -- where her nose came from and why her hair is blonde," Fargo said.
Working with a professional clinical worker, she was able to go through the process of obtaining her birth certificate, Fargo said.
"She wrote a letter to her birth parents and they wrote back."
The bill, however, is not about reuniting families, but about giving adopted people the same civil rights, Fargo said. "We are treating a group of citizens different than anyone else," she said.
he bill also reflects the changing times. The 1974 law enforces the secrecy of adoption. "Things have changed -- we need to bring the state law up to modern times," Fargo said.
The records also provide adopted people with important medical history.
"It would be nice to know if there is a history of breast cancer or asthma," she said.
Since the time Fargo first filed the bill, several states have adopted similar legislation.
In Oregon, the ABC was approved by a statewide referendum. Most recently, New Hampshire adopted the law.
In states where the legislation has passed, abortion rates have gone down and adoption rates have increased, Fargo said.
In Massachusetts, the bill is being heavily discussed and has bipartisan support.
"We are hopeful the bill have its chance to hit the Senate floor and move to the House," Siriani said.
(Michelle Muellenberg can be reached at 508-490-7453 or mmuellen@cnc.com.)
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