Currently, only seven states allow adoptees to see their original birth certificates. The North Carolina legislature has recently passed a new law that, though it doesn't grant access to birth certificates, will make it easier for adoptees to find information about their birth parents by allowing child-placement agencies to serve as intermediaries between willing adult adoptees and birth parents.

"The law replaces rules governing adoption records that rank among the nation's most restrictive. Current law requires adoptees to petition a judge and show 'just cause' to access birth records and other adoption information. It also forbids adoption agencies from releasing anything except 'non-identifying' information to adoptees or birth parents."

The new law is considered a compromise between groups who wanted adoptees to have full access to birth records and organizations like the National Council for Adoption which opposes full access without consent from both parties. Read more at Charlotte.com.

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Labels: adoptees, birth_parents, laws