First of all, I would like to point out that has been a long-going confusion regarding the meaning of Open Adoption Records as there are those out there who mistake it to mean the same thing as an Open Adoption. This is a glaring misconception that I feel has to be explained from the very start in order to understand the importance of Open Adoption Records. Open Adoption Records pertains to the legal documentation pertaining to the adoption process of an individual while Open Adoption refers to the method that an adopted child is raised. Usually allowing the biological parent to be present throughout the child-rearing process. Having said that, I would like to now explain why I believe there are tremendous social, medical, and psychological benefits when it comes to allowing an adopted child or adult open access to his adoption records.
To begin with, we now live in modern times where adoption no longer carries a stigma for the parent who gave up the child for adoption, or for the child who was adopted. In fact, there have been studies that prove that since the rise in adoption cases, abortion statistics have gone down. In 2007, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released the results of a national study that indicated a trend towards backing open adoption records because, according to Adam Perlman, chief executive director for the institute:
The reality is, in states with open records laws, there are fewer abortions, not more, and the number of adoptions increases.
His statement is supported by their survey and study statistics from states such as Oregon, Kansas, and Alaska, where adoption records are open, as having lower abortion and adoption rates than the states that advocated sealed adoption records.
More importantly, there is a medical reason that makes Open Adoption Records a necessity and a requirement for all adoptions. At the core of this issue is the so-called genetic disposition of a child or adult to hereditary illnesses. An adopting parent already takes a lifelong gamble on the child they choose to adopt, the least the system can do is help ensure that they will be able to medically care for or be prepared for any medical needs their adopted child would have in the future. In some cases, the genetic illness of a child can only be cured by direct interaction with the biological parent. Such as in the case of Leukemia patients who need bone marrow transplants. In these cases wherein donation and compatibility are key to the child or adult’s survival, access to the open records that will help track down the biological parent is imperative and life-saving.
In reality, the benefits of open adoption records have been acknowledged in countries such as Scotland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Alaska where the decision to have open adoption records can be traced all the way back to the 1930s. While France, Mexico, Norway, and Israel have never had sealed adoption records. While in the United States, adoption records have only begun being sealed over the past 40 years in all but 6 states, where abortion cases also remain at a low level.
Allow me to conclude this paper by saying that adoption records are the only real connection an adopted child will ever have to his birth. It is a part of him that did not cease to exist the day he was adopted and should therefore be acknowledged and embraced. Adopted children and adults need that connection to their past in order to understand their development as an individual or to realize what potentials they may have as adults. I, therefore, encourage people to support Open Adoption Records. For the benefit of the adopted child, adoptive parents, and biological parents.
Work Cited
Encyclopedia of Adoption: Open Adoption”. adoption.com. 2008. Web.
“National Study Backs Open Adoption Records”. Pittsburg Post Gazette. 2007. Web.
“Open Records: Why They’re Good For Adoptive Families”. Bastard Nation. 1999. Web.