A recent ABC Nightline story beautifully illustrates how unsealed birth certificates can be of great benefit to adult adoptees and birth parents alike.
In late March of this year, Adoption STAR’s Ohio Program Director April Fong wrote an excellent blog post entitled, “Opening Day.” The piece detailed how changes in Ohio law now permit adoptees to request copies of their original birth certificates. We’d recommend reading (or re-reading) April’s blog post for some background and perspective before continuing to read this blog post. You can find April’s piece here: Opening Day
Nightline, a television program on ABC, recently highlighted the story of an adult adoptee that chose to secure a copy of her original birth certificate. Her A recent ABC Nightline story beautifully illustrates how unsealed birth certificates can be of great benefit to adult adoptees and birth parents alike.decision to do so ultimately led to an opportunity to connect with her birth mother. The entire experience is chronicled in the Nightline piece, and it’s well worth watching. The story is emotionally charged and very intense in that it accurately portrays the difficulties that both adoptees and birth parents may experience when an adoption placement is shrouded in mystery, secrecy and shame. You can access the Nightline segment in question here.
NOTE – While some of the language utilized in the piece is perhaps a bit outdated and not in line with what Adoption STAR would recommend in terms of positive adoption language, it is important to note that the birth mother featured in the piece did not have any control over the adoption plan itself. Like so many young, unwed teenage girls from decades ago, adoption was an option that was chosen not necessarily by them, but by their parents – a decision made for them rather than by them (which is a very important distinction).