Emotional toll of searching for birth parents via sealed records

Lorraine

People today talk about the internet as a powerful tool in getting around sealed birth certificates and make it sound as if that pesky little problem of "sealed" doesn't really make a lot of difference. That is  true only for some. The current Beacon from the American Adoption Congress has the story of an Indiana woman, Elizabeth Boys, who found her biological family 36 hours after she posted her information on Facebook. That's got to be something like a record.

But it is unusual. At the recent public hearing for the bill (A909) in New York to allow adoptees the right to their original birth certificates, one of the more moving testimonies was about an arduous journey through the labyrinth of Catholic Charities, and the emotional toll it took on a bright, educated, adult

Why judges oppose unsealing birth records: Remember Richard Sherman?

Richard Sherman, thoughtful and intelligent

At Friday's hearing, I was asked why judges who deal with adoptions talk of "devastating consequences" if adoptees can access their original birth certificates. The two surrogate court judges* who spoke made it seem as if the vast majority of us were going to change our names and go into a witness protection program if that is allowed. Assemblyman Joseph Borelli, an adoptee who represents Staten Island, asked why they had this opinion. 

I said it was because of the emotional turmoil of the women at the time of the relinquishment, adding how it is such a difficult time. I said the judges see women who are nearly crazy with