A House judiciary committee has agreed to
help adult adoptees or their biological parents in finding out each
others identities.
But the panel stopped short of an earlier proposal to allow
adoptees access to their original birth certificates.
Adoption advocates and birthmothers pushed to eliminate a 1949
law that's kept adopted children's original birth certificates
sealed, requiring litigation to gain access to records. Those birth
certificates identified the biological parents.
Other advocates disagreed, saying the change would possibly
discourage adoption and unravel the understanding by some mothers
that their identities would remain confidential.
A compromise bill approved today would allow an adoption agency
to act as a "confidential intermediary" between an adoptee age 21
or older and a biological parent. With written permission from both
sides, the agency could bring about contact between the parent and
child or share identifying information.