If forced birth is increasingly the reproductive policy of the United States, there will likely be an increase in interactions with the adoption system. Justice Alito even highlighted this possibility in the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. In the Dobbs opinion, Justice Alito advanced arguments that a woman\u2019s ability to place a newborn up for adoption without \u201creason to fear\u201d that the baby would not end up in a good home acts as a modern substitute for abortion. As anti-abortion advocates continue to push for adoption as a substitute for abortion, there should be laws in place that reduce the harm to those interacting with the adoption system. Reforms are especially needed regarding adoptees\u2019 abilities to access their birth records such as their original birth certificate. In many states, adoption records and original birth certificates are sealed and cannot be openly accessed by adoptees, effectively sealing away parts of adoptees\u2019 identities as a legal policy.<\/p>\n
The policy of sealed adoption records in the United States is an inequitable practice that must be changed. The policy harms are most felt by low-income people navigating the adoption process as birth parents and adoptees. The costs associated with court filing fees and retaining attorneys to unseal records block low-income people in jurisdictions where adoption records are sealed. These people also do not have the means to pursue extra-legal avenues to access their birth history, such as DNA testing, leaving such information effectively inaccessible. Sealed original birth certificate and adoption records laws perpetuate a harmful stigma that vilifies poverty, disenfranchises low-income individuals from accessing parts of their identities, and reduces reproductive freedom. Keeping adoption records and original birth certificates sealed solidifies in law the wrongful and historically entrenched shame and stigma for adoptees who were originally born into a low-income family\u2014perpetuating the idea that through adoption, an adoptee can be cleansed of their low-income roots and \u201csaved\u201d by a higher-income family. Further harm is then created by blocking low-income adoptees through sealed adoption record laws, who later in life wish to access their birth parents\u2019 identities or important family medical history, but cannot due to the barriers and costs associated with gaining access. Overall, a system of sealed adoption records removes birthing individuals\u2019 choices and reduces their reproductive autonomy in choosing to pursue adoption, especially when the adoption system can already be a coercive experience for low-income birthing parents. States that do not already allow for open access to adoption records need to pass the proper legislation to create an open adoption record system that stops low-income family identity erasure, recognizes the importance of the right to identity for the adoptee, and empowers the reproductive autonomy of the birthing parent to make the decision that is right for their family as they interact with the adoption system.<\/p>\n
Part I of this Paper will provide an overview of the current legal landscape of original birth certificate access across the United States and how the policy of closed records became the standard. Part II of this Paper will analyze how these policies disproportionately harm low-income individuals interacting with the adoption system by promoting stigma around poverty, erasing low-income family identities, and reducing reproductive autonomy. Part III of this Paper will advocate for a state-by-state advocacy approach to change the law to provide greater open access to adoption records and original birth certificates, which recognizes the complexities of the needs of adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents navigating an imperfect adoption system.<\/p>\n