When Eric Roach (who was adopted as an infant in 1955) was 40 years old, he requested a copy of his original birth certificate and access to his sealed adoption records. His requests were denied.
Now, according to an Oct. 14 article by Mary Garrigan of the Rapid City Journal, Roach and others are appealing to the South Dakota legislature to change the rules to provide all adopted adults with access to their original birth certificates:
"I can't have what other people get automatically," [Roach said]. Any biological child can go to the state of South Dakota and request a copy of their birth certificate and, with the appropriate documentation, they'll get it -- no questions asked. As an adoptee, if you want a copy of your birth certificate -- hang on for the ride. The answer is 'No. You're adopted.' The laws ought to be equal across the board."
As part of South Dakota Support and Education for Adoption Legislation, Roach is one of about a dozen members -- including adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents -- who will lobby the 2010 Legislature to allow 18-year-old adoptees to obtain their original, unamended birth certificates from the South Dakota Department of Health.
Under current state law, adoptees need a court order from the county where their adoptions were finalized to access their adoption records or their original birth certificates, requests that can be arbitrarily denied by a judge.
Nine other states already have laws that allow adopted adults to access their original birth certificates, Garrigan reported.
Labels: laws, adopted adults, birth_certificates
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