Monday, November 18, 2019

New York enacts new adoption law allowing release of original birth certificates

From Syracuse.com:
For the first time since 1935 when the state sealed adoption records, adoptees will be able to obtain their original birth certificate when they turn 18 and find out the names
of their birth parents....

New York law prevented... adoptees to obtain their original birth certificates because the state sealed birth records to protect the privacy of mothers and fathers who gave up their children for adoption.

Supporters of the bill argued that times have changed, and that adoption no longer carries the stigma it did decades ago. It’s also easier to track down relatives through advances in genetic testing and online ancestry sites....

The law will go into effect Jan. 15, 2020. The legislation directs the state Department of Health to develop a process to handle adoptee requests for the records.