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Adoptee Groups Petition to Declare July 28 'National Adoptee Rights Day'

Four organizations - The American Adoption Congress, NJ-CARE, EqualAccess4Adoptees.org, and Adoption Crossroads, Inc. - are petitioning to have July 28 declared National Adoptee Rights Day. It is intended to be a day to bring attention to Adoptee Rights as a human and civil rights issue.

"Seven million American citizens are denied the same rights as all other American citizens in regard to equal access to their own original birth certificates," says Mirah Riben of Equal Access 4 Adoptees. "Adopted persons are oppressed by laws that apply only to this segment of the population."

Such laws were created in the 1940s in many states to protect adoptees from the stigma of illegitimacy, which has largely faded. Laws sealing adoption records, including birth certificates, were also enacted to protect adoptive families from intrusion by birth families. The laws gave secrecy within adoptive families the official, legal seal of approval.

Today, adoption experts say that truth and honesty are preferable and most placing mothers are requesting openness in their adoptions. Alaska and Kansas never sealed birth records and there have been no reported negative consequences to anyone as a result of allowing equal access to original birth records for adoptees. Today, nineteen states are challenging laws that discriminate against adoptees (IL, RI, PA, NJ, for example) and create physical danger to adopted persons and their own children and grandchildren by not being allowed to inquire about their dynamic and current family medical history. Advertisement

"There is no evidence to indicate that mothers or fathers relinquishing children for adoption voluntarily or involuntarily were ever given any promise of anonymity from their children," says Riben, "and most are eager to know of the well-being of their adopted-out offspring." She continues, "No such alleged promises could be made because birth certificates are not sealed until an adoption occurs and many adoptive parents obtain documents with the names of the relinquishing parent(s)."

July 28 was chosen to bring attention to this current day civil rights issue because on that date in 1868 the 14th Amendment was ratified becoming the basis for all the Civil Rights legislation in the last 125 years.

A petition to have the date recognized officially as National Adoptee Rights Day can be signed at: http://tinyurl.com/adoptee-rights-day.