Adoption News

In Connecticut, Governor Veto of Popular, Needed Adoption Rights Bill

Two key Democrats and other adoption-rights advocates were shocked and dismayed to learn today that Gov. M. Jodi Rell has vetoed a popular and necessary adoption rights bill that would have given adopted children the right to view their original birth certificate when they reach adulthood. The bill, Senate Bill 4, "An Act Providing Certain Adult Adopted Persons with Access to Information in Their Original Birth Certificates," would have permitted adults who were adopted in Connecticut to obtain a copy of their unaltered original birth certificate when they reach age 21. Under the law- which is prospective and not retroactive--the earliest that any adopted child born in Connecticut today could view their original birth certificate would be October 1, 2027.

S.B. 4 was the subject of a series of statewide, public forums held last summer to debate the topic. The bill was approved by the Children's and Judiciary committees by a combined vote of 47-3, or better than a 15-to-1 ratio. It was approved by a combined House and Senate vote of 107-72, or a 3-to-2 ratio. The bill was endorsed at its February 16 public hearing by state Department of Children and Families Commissioner Darlene Dunbar, by Commission on Children Executive Director Elaine Zimmerman, by social workers, attorneys, third-party adoption advocates, and by nearly a dozen adult adopted children or parents of adopted children.

The most controversial aspect of an early draft of the bill -one that would have made access to birth certificates retroactive, an issue which was opposed by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union--was dropped from the final version of the bill.

State Sen. Bill Finch (D-Bridgeport), who was one of the driving forces behind the adoption legislation, called Gov. Rell's veto an insult to adoptees and their parents.

"This is a slap in the face to all adoptees in the state, their parents and their birth parents who are trying to reunite," said Sen. Finch, who himself was adopted as a child. "It's certainly an insensitive decision, and I can't help but think that there's some aspect of partisanship involved here. But the ones who are really being punished by the governor's decision are the adoptees."

"The governor says in her veto message that she's concerned about opening 'adoption records.' But we never sought to open adoption records, which include the court documents for termination of paternal rights and all the confidential and possibly embarrassing personal information that might includes. Quite simply, all we sought was access to the original birth certificate. And if I don't own my own birth certificate, who does?" Sen. Finch added. "Also, in all the states we looked at that have similar birth certificate access, adoptions when up, and abortion rates went down. So the governor seems to be more interested in spreading urban legend than she does fact." State Sen. Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), who as co-chairman of the Select Committee on Children co-sponsored and helped usher the bill through the legislative process, said he too was stunned and saddened by the governor's decision to kill the bill.

"We made this bill as simple as possible by taking the retroactive portion out. It passed both chambers of the legislature with strong support. It's good for the adoption process, and it's good for adopted children," Sen. Meyer said. "I cannot fathom why the governor would oppose this bill. Perhaps it's because there are some people of a certain age, those in their 60s and 70s, who still see adoption as a stigma. But it's not. It's a whole new world out there, with adoption becoming a global and a cross-cultural phenomenon. The stigma is gone. It's time for Connecticut to get with it, and the governor's veto is totally out of synch with all the positive attributes of adoption." Fred Greenman Jr., a member of the Board of Directors of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and a legal advisor to the American Adoption Congress who testified in support of S.B. 4, said Gov. Rell has done a disservice to Connecticut adoptees. Read more at: www.senatedems.ct.gov

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	Did You Know?
	Adoption assistance is available Monthly or one-time only subsidy payments to help adoptive parents raise children with special needs. These payments were initially made possible by the enactment of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272) which provided Federa Most adoptive parents are two parent families Most adoptive parents are two parent families aged 31 to 40. A growing number of parents are aged 41 to 49. Most parents attended or completed college. Children can be adopted from other countries Adopting children from all over the world has become something U.S. residents and citizens have been doing more and more when starting or expanding their families. Over 20,000 inter-country adoptions are taking place per year in addition to the more than