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Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Pennsylvania Senate: Restore Original Birth Certificate Access to Pennsylvania Adoptees
SIGN THIS PETITION
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Signatures
95 out of 1,000Petitioning
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Pennsylvania Senate
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It is time that the right of Pennsylvania-born adoptees to access their Original Birth Certificates be restored to them.
Up until the mid-1970's, Pennsylvania placed an "illegitimate" label on the birth certificates of individuals born to unmarried parents. In the mid-20th century, birth records of adoptees became closed to the public to protect the adopted individual from the lifelong stigma that "illegitimate birth" could carry.
It wasn't until 1984 that a bill was passed that made the original birth record unavailable to the adoptee to whom it belonged. The same legislator that drafted Pennsylvania's Abortion Control act also drafted the bill that made adult adoptees unequal citizens in Pennsylvania. At the time, lawmakers felt that closing access to adult adoptees would lower abortion rates. They were wrong.
There is no correlation between access legislation and abortion rates rising or falling. Should any correlation be made, we need to look no further than the several states that have restored access to adult adoptees: their abortion rates have fallen.
Even with the passing of Act 101 of 2011 (SB 1360), which made Pennsylvania one of only 24 states to legally recognize open adoptions, the right of adult adoptees to be treated equally was not addressed. As adoptions in Pennsylvania have become more open in response to the demand for adoptees to be able to benefit from both families, adoptee access to their own birth records has gradually become more closed. Can we say that this makes sense? Act 101 acknowledged that adoptees can benefit from knowledge of their life pre-adoption and access to their roots. Despite the acknowledgement of this benefit, the access to their birth record that all others enjoy as an unquestioned right is made a conditional privilege for the adopted.
Our births are events in history and our birth records are documents tying us to this historical event. Yet what every other Pennsylvania-born individual can receive from the Vital Statistics office, with no issue, regardless of family circumstances, an adult adoptee may never see for themselves in their lifetime. It is time for this law based on stereotype and shame that enforces institutional discrimination against adoptees born in Pennsylvania to end. It is unnecessary government intrusion into the lives of adult adoptees and our families.
Please support House Bill 963 which would restore equality to adult adoptees and allow them to access their original birth certificate under the Vital Statistics Law the same way everyone else born in Pennsylvania does.
Restore equality for adult adoptees
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Recent Signatures
Restore Original Birth Certificate Access to Pennsylvania Adoptees
Greetings,
I just signed the following petition addressed to: Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Pennsylvania Senate.
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Restore Original Birth Certificate Access to Pennsylvania Adoptees
It is time that the right of Pennsylvania-born adoptees to access their Original Birth Certificates be restored to them.
Up until the mid-1970's, Pennsylvania placed an "illegitimate" label on the birth certificates of individuals born to unmarried parents. In the mid-20th century, birth records of adoptees became closed to the public to protect the adopted individual from the lifelong stigma that "illegitimate birth" could carry.
It wasn't until 1984 that a bill was passed that made the original birth record unavailable to the adoptee to whom it belonged. The same legislator that drafted Pennsylvania's Abortion Control act also drafted the bill that made adult adoptees unequal citizens in Pennsylvania. At the time, lawmakers felt that closing access to adult adoptees would lower abortion rates. They were wrong.
There is no correlation between access legislation and abortion rates rising or falling. Should any correlation be made, we need to look no further than the several states that have restored access to adult adoptees: their abortion rates have fallen.
Even with the passing of Act 101 of 2011 (SB 1360), which made Pennsylvania one of only 24 states to legally recognize open adoptions, the right of adult adoptees to be treated equally was not addressed. As adoptions in Pennsylvania have become more open in response to the demand for adoptees to be able to benefit from both families, adoptee access to their own birth records has gradually become more closed. Can we say that this makes sense? Act 101 acknowledged that adoptees can benefit from knowledge of their life pre-adoption and access to their roots. Despite the acknowledgement of this benefit, the access to their birth record that all others enjoy as an unquestioned right is made a conditional privilege for the adopted.
Our births are events in history and our birth records are documents tying us to this historical event. Yet what every other Pennsylvania-born individual can receive from the Vital Statistics office, with no issue, regardless of family circumstances, an adult adoptee may never see for themselves in their lifetime. It is time for this law based on stereotype and shame that enforces institutional discrimination against adoptees born in Pennsylvania to end. It is unnecessary government intrusion into the lives of adult adoptees and our families.
Please support House Bill 963 which would restore equality to adult adoptees and allow them to access their original birth certificate under the Vital Statistics Law the same way everyone else born in Pennsylvania does.
Restore equality for adult adoptees
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Sincerely,
[Your name]