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History of Secrecy in Adoption


Up into the 1920s, everyone had access to the adoption records. They were considered public records. In the 1920s, the original birth certificate was slowly being sealed from the public. 

In the 1930s, laws changed terminology  from parties of interest to the parties on record.  This effectively shut out the birth families from finding their child or accessing the original birth certificate.

Into the 1940s and 1950s, the records were being sealed from the adoptee.  There was a serious  psychoanalytical influence on social work and adoption courtesy of Florence Clothier and Sigmund Freud. This ended the openness in adoption.

From the 1960s forward, the original birth certificate was sealed from even the adoptive parents.

Elizabeth J. Samuels has an excellent historical review of secrecy in adoption.

The original birth certificate were never supposed to have been sealed from us living adoption.  We were supposed to always have access.

We are currently seeking to restore our rights to  the original birth certificate.


Supportive Documents:

Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Research Studies:

Safeguarding the Rights and Well Being of First Parents in the Process of Adoption


According to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute: 

One of the concerns of critics of adoptee rights is that abortion numbers will increase. 

The response points to data on abortion rates in states where adult adopted persons have long been able to obtain their original birth certificates (Kansas and Alaska), states that have amended their laws to allow adopted adults access to their information, and states that continue to keep records sealed. These data demonstrate no discernible relationship between a state’s policy on access to adoption information and the abortion rate within its borders. The Oregon Center for Health Statistics and Vital Records reports that the number of induced abortions performed in the state dropped 18.2 percent in the four years since passage of its law restoring access to records. The national decrease in abortions during the same period was 2 percent.  This trend is similar to abortion rate trends in England and Wales when adoption records were opened. Other states with new adoption records laws have not issued analysis of these trends, limiting the scope of this analysis.

You can read more below with the following link to their report:

For the Records

Child  Welfare League of America's Standards of Excellence for Adoption Services Recommend the following:

The agency providing adoption services should advise birth parents who are making a plan for the adoption of their child that information related to their identifies may be disclosed to the child at some point in the future.

  • Agencies should advise birth parents making an adoption plan that identifying information may be disclosed to the child in the future.
  • Agencies should support efforts to ensure that adults who were adopted have direct access to identifying information
  • If state law prohibits the agency from providing the requested identifying information, the agency should advocate for legislative changes to such policies (6.22)
For those interested in statistics in New Hampshire, Oregon, and Alabama: 

Oregon had 9,735 requests for original birth certificates.  Only .08% of first parents requested no contact.

Alabama had 4,298 requests for original birth certificates.  They are reporting very few requests for no contact.

New Hampshire had 1,158 requests for original birth certificates.  Only .05% of first parents requested no contact.

This averages to be .02% for these three states.  None of these states have reported stalking adoptees or birth parents.
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