Why can't there be a place where all of the information about an adoption can be stored?

Question

I want to establish a single place where attorneys, adoptees, and adoptive parents can store any and all information regarding an adoption. This would include original documents without black spots and crossed out areas. It would only be accessible to the ADOPTEE after he/she turned 18, or sooner if the adoptive parents signed a waiver of the waiting period.

This place would be exempt from laws of any state, because the information would be placed there by the parties involved. It would also be a "one stop shop" for all information available.

The obvious drawback is that the adoptive parents and birthparents would have to volutarily place the information there.

Does anyone think that this could ever work? There would obviously be a fee involved for the storage and maintenance of the information, but I would be willing to pay it.

Answer 1

There is a lot of discussion about this issue among adoptive parents of Chinese children.  There seems to be a general consensus that someday, there will be a DNA/information registry where Chinese birth parents will be able to track down their children, and vice versa.

Of course, you have hit upon the major drawback of any such system really working.....the adoptive parents, birthparents, and adoptees would all have to be willing to provide the appropriate information.  

So the question is, "Will the day ever come when every birthparent and adoptee wish to have a reunion with each other?"   My guess is no......not EVERY parent or child will want this.    

As an adoptive parent, I also don't feel that I have the right to make this decision for my child(ren).    If and when the day comes that they wish to search, I will do everything in my power to help them and support them.....and of course, the registry you suggest would be immensely helpful in such a search.

But there's not much that can be done if either party does not wish a reunion.

Answer 2

Sounds like a good idea and it would benefit so many.

Answer 3

Someone here posted in her response 'So the question is, "Will the day ever come when every birthparent and adoptee wish to have a reunion with each other?" My guess is no......not EVERY parent or child will want this.'

However, access to certain documents is not about reunion.  It's about access to certain documents.

I'm a reunited adoptee.  I don't NEED my original birth certificate.  However, I EXPECT to be treated equally under the law by my own state.  

This method could make it easier for some adoptees to get information if they don't wish to speak with their natural parents in order to get it.  Medical information, for example, is protected for ALL people under HIPAA.  So, outside of a natural parent regularly updating and voluntarily placing it somewhere that the adoptee can see it, the only other option for an adoptee to get this is to meet with the natural parents.

This does nothing to solve the fundamental issue of discrimination by states that do not give adoptees access to their original birth certificates.  The original birth certificate remains unsealed when a parent gives the child up for adoption.  Therefore, the parents who give up a child are never given any reason to believe that their child may not be able to have this document anyway.  If the child does get adopted, and stays adopted, the birth certificate is sealed, otherwise it remains unsealed.  In 6 states, this sealed birth certificate will be given to the adult adoptee whose birth it records upon request, in the same way birth certificates are given to non-adopted people upon request.

In the 44 states that have separate laws for adoptees than for non-adoptees, various requirements must be met in order to possibly gain access to the birth certificate, which would have not sealed without the finalization of an adoption.  Remember, it remained unsealed when the natural parents gave the child up.

So, to have a document such as the original birth certificate in a container that is built by both sets of parents still treats adoptees as perpetual children and still doesn't address the issue of discrimination by the state.

The issue of original birth certificate access by adoptees is an one of the adoptee's relationship with the state.  Therefore, it needs to be rectified on that level.

Answer 4

The problem with this is it inherently keeps adopted adults as perpetual children, subject to the whims of their natural and adoptive parents to play along.

There already is a place where all the information about an adoption is stored. It's called an original birth certificate, and it's stored by a state's vital records office. Instead of starting a new institution that doesn't recognize adoptees as adults, why not work towards fixing the system we have now?

Answer 5

It would be a great idea, the info is so scattered it's not even funny! It really needs to be all in one place. I'd be willing to help you find resources to pull off something like this if you need, just send me an email.

Answer 6

Yeah cool idea.  It would be better to change the laws though

I found my mother last week and she had given her consent, left letters on file and still the agency lied to me and denied that she'd ever been in contact.

It's the sealed records laws need to change.  People are more than capable of handling their own relationships without intervention - it's called freedom of association.  For certain people to be denied this is just discrimination and any argument in defense of sealed records is an argument in defense of discrimination.

Answer 7

I wish I could remember her name but her son was conceived via artificial insemination as he got older she created website for donors, donor siblings and children to connect with family. Her website is donor registry something. Maybe she could help you get something started, or at least offer you advice on it.

Answer 8

There should be something like that, kudos to you!