Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / February 2006

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/02/26/bill_would_give
_adult_adoptees_access_to_birth_certificates/

Bill would give adult adoptees access to birth certificates
By Cara Rubinsky, Associated Press Writer  |  February 26, 2006

HAMDEN, Conn. --Jerry Kristafer will never forget sitting across from
the New Jersey social service worker who held the key to his past.

She produced a manila folder containing the identity of his birth
parents. And then she told him he had no right to see it.

Now Kristafer, a talk show host and program director for WELI-AM radio
in Hamden, is speaking out in favor of legislation that would give
adopted adults born in Connecticut access to their birth certificates.

Currently, adopted adults can only access their original birth
certificates if they have a court order. Otherwise, they can get only
amended records, which do not list their birth parents.

"You grow up, you want to find your roots and you can't," said
Kristafer, who has a good relationship with the parents who adopted
him. "I was not at peace with myself. The void was bigger than myself."

A similar law took effect in New Hampshire last year, and Maine is
considering one. Oregon, Alabama, Alaska and Kansas give adoptees over
18 access to their birth certificates. Delaware and Tennessee also
allow access, but with some restrictions. In Vermont, original birth
certificates are available to people over 18 if adoptions were
completed by July 1986.

The bill also would allow birth parents to submit forms indicating
whether they wish to be contacted. They could also fill out health
history forms.

The Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union opposes
the bill, saying parents who have given their children up for adoption
since records were sealed in 1974 did so assuming their identities
would remain confidential.

"By going back on their promise and making that information available,
I think that it will create some significant problems for a system that
has really prided itself on confidentiality," said Roger Vann,
executive director of the Connecticut ACLU.

Vann said he has struggled with the issue on a personal level because
he is also adopted. But he said privacy concerns are paramount.

"We think that birth parents should always have the option to choose
whether their information should be released," Vann said. "At the
beginning of the process, when a child is being put up for adoption,
you ask the birth parents whether they want their information to be
sealed or unsealed."

Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford and co-chairman of the Select Committee
on Children, which raised the bill, said his committee heard compelling
testimony from both birth parents and adopted children.

"We had adopted children who don't know who they are," Meyer said. "We
heard from people saying that there would not be contentment in their
lives until they found out their identity."

Among them was Kristafer, who more than 20 years ago spent countless
hours playing detective to track down his birth parents. When he found
them, he learned he is half Hungarian and half Irish. He has his
mother's hands and his father's build. His ancestors lived in an Irish
castle.

"These are all basic things we have the right to know," he said. "To be
told you don't have a right to that, that's just not right."

Kristafer had seven years to get to know his birth father, who died 15
years ago. He's still in regular contact with his mother, who was
thrilled to see him when he showed up at her door. He also tracked down
siblings. A few weren't interested in having a relationship. But he has
no regrets.

"Did I find the perfect family? No," Kristafer said. "But that's not
what you're searching for. We're not seeking another family or to make
up for lost time. We're just seeking the truth."