"Right is of no sex, truth is of no color..." - Frederick Douglass
Friends of clean adoption reform,
In 1935, Catholic Sister Dominica Maria, Superintendent of the New York Foundling Hospital, wrote to New York Governor Herbert Lehman. On behalf of the Foundling, she stated opposition to a legislative proposal to seal original vital records of adopted persons. She rightly raised human and civil rights concerns that could easily be shared by anybody - anytime, anywhere and of any sensibility, religious or not.
She wasn't alone. Just a few days before, a similar appeal from Catholic Charities of New York had also been delivered to the Executive Chamber.
Sadly, in 1936, Lehman ignored these child advocacy appeals. With the stroke of his pen, the failed experiment of creating a series of laws (then and over ensuing decades) that would block adoptees from their own identities had begun. Birth certificates, intended for the benefit of those born, would be hidden away, but only when adoptions took place. This built a culture of secrecy and shame. This overt discrimination was specifically exploited, even unto federally funded, pseudoscientific "pain studies" on surrendered babies as young as a few hours old to determine their intelligence and, thus, adoptability. These experiments, which were sometimes openly bragged about in the press, are summarized in the book American Baby (2021), where we proudly contributed research, which is ongoing.
The stated reason for the 1936 law was to combat a perceived stigma of "illegitimacy" (it had nothing to do with protecting privacy of birth parents). Though there is no stigma to being an adopted person, the conflation of birth and adoption considerations led to a colossal error of governance with far reaching, adverse effects if 48 of 50 states* (Kansas and Alaska never blocked adopted adults from access to previously sealed original birth certificates).
Happily, 84 years later, on January 15, 2020, our New York law restoring unrestricted access to original birth certificates for all adult adopted persons went into effect. And, as a function of our contacts with the New York State Department of Health, we know that many stakeholders (adoptees, direct line descendants and, by extension, the multitudes they associate with) have benefitted and will continue to do so. As of publishing, 12 states* have similar policies to New York. So, 38 more states, and Washington D.C., remain overdue to restore adoptee equality, which, beyond its moral imperative, is proven to work.
Recently, some religious and government leaders have encouraged people to consider adoption to build families. An understandable appeal. However, sadly, these appeals either infer or directly attach themselves to insidious canards that threaten the same kinds of mistakes of governance that previously alienated, not just adopted persons, but also women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community. This is not acceptable.
As often stated here, it is a basic human right to know where you come from. Therefore, it is a basic civil right to have unrestricted access to the document that establishes you as a citizen of your state and your nation - the original birth certificate.
Parental love and care, whether it be birth, adoptive, paternal, maternal, spiritual, or otherwise, respected the right to know identity in recorded history. And in those ancient times, no known statute, religious or otherwise, kept an adopted person from otherwise knowing the details of their birth, even if a new name was "conferred" upon them and / or a government vital record was not created. So, spiritual leaders who look to bygone religious guidelines for inspiration are encouraged to interpret them properly to help us shape a future where adoptee rights are properly restored and respected.
In a world where adoptee equality is respected, and adoptions go forth with sensitivity, it will follow that long established implied rights to privacy, procreational choice and abortion, are fairly considered and respected on their merits, whether surrender of a child (which does not guarantee adoption from foster care) is considered by a mother or not. So, civic leaders who extoll the benefits of adoption are encouraged to do so without conflating various matters before them. This will aid the government in taking wise action that will properly look upon equality as what it inherently is - an expanding resource to be extended to all identifiable, disenfranchised groups of citizens. We must remember that government is no place to proselytize and ignore separation of church and state. To do so would not only threaten adherence to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment but, on the matter of restoring adoptee rights it, amazingly, would also work to cross-purposes of those with stated religious conviction. Specifically, as data demonstrates, if access to original birth certificates has had any affect, it has been to increase adoptions and decrease abortions. This should never, however, distract our understanding of women as being fully equal people, and, here, on matters that pertain to their own bodies and health (even when abortion may be decreasingly sought as potentially influenced by adjustments in other areas of the law). In short, now, a woman's right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy must be restored and protected, just as assuredly as adoptee equality remains a similarly timeless imperative.
"Love," whether it be derived from religious or secular influence, whether it be in ancient Judea or modern-day Rome, New York City, South Bend Indiana or anywhere, demands the very thing we continue to advocate for - adoptee liberty and equality.
And here, we will stand by the women and voters who deserve similar respect and support.
Tim Monti-Wohlpart
*States with a policy of unrestricted original birth certificate access for adult adoptees (alphabetical): Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont (VT primary provisions take effect July 1, 2023).