It has been amazing for me to learn how adoptees are treated as somehow LESS THAN other citizens in this country.
It isn’t a wonder to me that adult adoptees simply want self-determination and autonomy. They yearn for a respectful and inclusive definition of family – where their inclusively defined (original and adoptive) family is seen as a strength rather than
a weakness. It isn’t too much to ask that they be allowed transparency and truth.
Policies related to adopted person should be based on evidence and best practices that are healthy for adult adoptees and respectful of their human rights. They wish to be treated with dignity and as having human worth.
How is it that adoptees never have a say within the adoption system ? That they are not considered the “owners” of their own birth experience.
A child’s human rights include –
the preservation of their biological family whenever possible, information related to their heritage and identifying family information that will provide accurate medical health histories.
At a minimum, there should be unrestricted adult adoptee access to their own original birth certificates.
It is mystifying to me that there is such a lack of support for an adoptee to make sense of their personal diversity. I believe that is because in a predominantly non-adopted society, people simply don’t understand how it feels, how vexing this hidden and/or false identity is for a mature person.
My mom was offered the most minimal non-identifying information from her adoption file, often referred to as the “censored records”. It was of no practical use to her and why is it that the powers that be do not honor a citizen’s right to information that is personally their own ?
Just recently the state of New York finally decided to do what is just and fair by adult adoptees. Too many states continue to hide behind bureaucratic policies that I judge to be no more than bureaucratic laziness.
Missing Mom 