The Lesser-Known Civil Rights Movement
 It was only a piece of paper. But what this piece of paper contained would unlock a part of Joe Soll that he spent 32 years searching for. Soll was adopted as a young baby and never knew the name of his birthmother. His Original Birth Certificate (OBC) contained that information, but because he was born in the state of New York, he couldnât access that.
 âI spent over 30 years searching for my own flesh and blood and was denied this most basic human right.â Soll said at a New York State Assembly legislative proceeding.
 New York only allows access to an OBC by court order which is extremely difficult to obtain. Judges rule by âjust causeâ for access, and OBCs are granted only in terms of a medical emergency. The law as it currently stands is subjective at best and arbitrary at worst.
 Equality is a term thrown around in America constantly. We want equality between men and women. We want equality for heterosexual marriages and same sex marriages. We want equality throughout the races. But Americanâs arenât aware of the adoption civil rights movement that affects nearly 2.5 percent of Americans, according to the Adoption Institute.
 While that may seem like a small majority, 2.5 percent of Americans equal roughly 7.9 million Americans, according to the Census Bureau.
 The adoptees, who have no say in whether they are adopted, fight their entire lives for access to records that non-adoptees have access to every day.
 When a child is adopted, they receive an amended birth certificate, which changes the place of birth address to where the adopted parents live. In essence, a legally falsified document is given to the adopted person. If for some reason a person were never told that they were adopted, their amended birth certificate would give no indication.
 The restrictions placed on an adopteeâs access to his own personal information should raise significant civil rights issues. Adoptees seek out their OBC to answer that question of âwho am Iâ by finding their heritage, medical and genealogical data.
 Adoptees in New York who are searching for their birth parents can obtain only non-identifying information which include ages, physical descriptions, talents and hobbies and basic medical data of their birth parents.
 New York along with 37 other states have registries set up. Both parties can register through the Department of Health for it and then will be contacted accordingly if there are matching interests. But the registries only work if both the adoptee and the birth parents register. If both parties do not signing up, a situation much like Joe Sollâs arises.
 âI found out that my mother, who lived across the river from me, was searching for me my entire life until she passed away in 1987.â Soll said.
 While not every adopted person goes through what Soll had to go through, many face similar challenges and have similar stories.
 When birth records first started sealing in 1917 with the Minnesota Act of 1917, the idea was to protect the integrity of adopted child from the stigma of illegitimacy, however throughout the years, the law morphed into granting privacy or anonymity to the birth mother.
 âThe law was enacted in an era of shame. You werenât supposed to parent a child if you werenât married,â Adam Pertman President of the Adoption Institute said.
 Common belief dictated that mothers were promised privacy by state governments. No written record of a promise to privacy for the birthmothers has ever been found.
 âThat promise was never made. It was more or less like an order. You know stay away from [the family you relinquished your child to].â Adam Pertman said.
New York Sen. Andrew Lanza introduced the Bill of Adoptee Rights (S2490A) May 2013 which would allow adoptees access to their OBC at 18, but the bill has yet to reach the Senate floor. Adoptees may still not be able to reach out to their birth mothers due to a contact preference form the birth mother signs. The contact preference form has three options: the adoptee can contact the birth mother directly, through an intermediary or not at all.
âYou donât need the these. These are all adults. They can decide personally if they want to see each other. No other place somewhere does the government dictate whether you can try to form a relationship with another adult, not to mention one who created you.â Pertman said.
 Some believe that this is the best option because it allows the adoptee to gain the name of the birth mother and their medical history. But what is to stop the adoptee from reaching out anyway? You would be hard pressed to find any stories about birth mothers pressing charges for an adoptee contacted them.
 In fact, research shows that birth mothers overwhelmingly want contact with their children. Data from four states who switched to open access to OBCsâOregon, New Hampshire, Alabama, and Maineâshow that in a 10 year stretch less than 1% of birthmothers requested no contact. In open access states adoptees are able to access their OBCs at the age of majority without restriction For some states the age is 18 and for others the age is 21.
 Critics of the sealed birth certificate legislation like the ACLU feel that if all states were to allow open access the rate of abortions would rise. However ,in Kansas and Alaska, both states who have never sealed records, research shows that the abortion rates are lower and adoption rates are higher comparatively to bordering states and all of America.
 Participating in relatively simple tasks such as applying for a passport prove difficult for adoptees. After 9/11, the State Department tightened proof of citizenship. Now applicants must provide an OBC to complete the application. As it stands now, that leaves millions of adoptees unable to secure a passport because amended birth certificates are no longer accepted. Adoptees now have to go above and beyond to garner a passport.
 David McIntyre and his wife planned to embark on a voyage through Europe. McIntyre had no idea that his being adopted would almost bar him from traveling. David was adopted, but his situation was slightly different than the norm. He grew up living in California with his birth mother. Once his mother was remarried, his stepfather naturally adopted him. Once the adoption was finalized, his OBC was sealed.
 In the state of California, adoptees seeking to gain a copy of their OBC must get a court ordered approval, according to California Health and Safety Code 102705. McIntyer said he pushed for 6 months before being able to get the information he needed.
 âThroughout this whole ordeal, it looked pretty bleak. I felt like a second class citizen.,â McIntyer said.
 McIntyre received OBC in 6 months after providing his court-ordered delayed birth certificate and petitioning a judge, but he knew that the length of time it took to gain that access was not the norm.
 âI realized some people have it even tougher than me. If certain documents got misplaced, the recourse for it was hiring lawyers just to try to prove you exist,â McIntyer said.
 Other states are beginning to recognize the significance of the OBC. State after state are beginning to open their records or have proposed amendments waiting to be approved.
 Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington are in the process of introducing bills that would give adoptees access to their original birth certificates. And by July 1st, Washington will have open access to birth certificates.
