Pennsylvania Adoptees Should be Seen and Not Heard

As some of you who have been following us may be aware, Senate Bill 1360 passed last session and was made law.  It was praised for making Pennsylvania one of only 24 states in the U.S. to legally recognize open adoptions.  It brought Pennsylvania forward in adoption history while at the same time pushing it way back.  By saying we've gone back in history I mean, of course, the provision where birth certificate access is now described as access to a "birth certificate summary" and access is still conditional upon the permission of an adoptee's first parents.

According to a DPW bulletin dated April 22, 2011:

"Act 101  will  have far-reaching  effects on the ability of  adopted children to  maintain lifelong connections with their biological family and to  have access to information that may not have been  readily available in the past when appropriate authorizations are on file.  These connections to  both  people, as well as information,  will allow access to  information that provides an  opportunity for children to understand their past and  its potential impact on their lives and the lives of their descendants."

What the law essentially says is, your connections to your original family and past are important....only if another person determines so for you, on your behalf, by putting a consent on file.  Even if your a 30, 40, 50, 60 (etc.) year old "adopted child."  Yes, this law determines how adult adoptees will access their identifying and non-identifying information.

Among the groups listed as assisting in developing policy that makes this law work were original parents, adoptive parents, and other entities.  You will notice that adult adoptees, who were once adopted children and who will be still impacted by this legislation as adults, were not listed as being consulted.  The old passive registry and court system was a confusing, ineffective, and expensive ordeal for many adult adoptees who attempted to use it.  No better a person is there to ask about being adopted than an adoptee.  No better a person to ask how a system an adoptee will use should work than an adopted person who has used a system that hasn't worked.

The forms to use the new passive registry system, entitled "P.A.I.R." (Pennsylvania Adoption Information Registry), are found here.

It is the opinion of Pennsylvania Adoptee Rights that treating adult adoptees as perpetual children and micromanaging their ability to access information most others take for granted is both unacceptable and discriminatory.  We are deeply disappointed that Pennsylvania continues to make separate rules for the adopted that make what is an unquestioned right for those not adopted a conditional privilege for those who are.  It is hard to believe that it was only 26 years ago that Pennsylvania had one of the most progressive adult adoptee access laws in the United States.