News You Can Use

VT Governor Scott Signs OBC Access Bill into Law

May 6, 2022

Vermont, which had previously allowed adoptees born after 1986 to obtain copies of their original birth certificate, has taken the next incremental step to provide the same access for all adult adoptees and descendants

Opinion:  Let Donor Conceived Adults Know their Origins

May 4, 2022

Groundbreaking legislation passed and awaiting signature in Colorado would help ensure that the next generation of donor-conceived individuals will know their origins. John Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, weighs in.

Irish mother-and-baby homes redress plan announced

November 16, 2021

After a January 2021 public apology offered  by the Irish government to women who suffered abuse and coercive practices in mother-and-baby homes, government officials have gone a step further in providing financial reparations.

Birth Certificate Bill Championed by Cassano Becomes Law

June 8, 2021

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a bill June 7, 2021 restoring direct, unrestricted access to original birth certificates for adult adoptees and their descendants. The measure was approved 115-28 by the House and 27-8 by the Senate.

How a new Iowa law will help adult adoptees get birth certificates

May 24, 2021

On Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bipartisan bill into law that will allow adult adoptees to more easily get the original copy of their birth certificate.  Rep. Marti Anderson, D-Des Moines, who gave up her daughter for adoption when she got pregnant at age 19, gave an emotional speech on the House floor in support of the measure.

TN Legislature Unanimously Repeals Contact Veto Registry

April 12, 2021

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill repealing the state's Contact Veto Registry on 4/7/21, after it passed through the state legislature unanimously and unamended.  Tennessee was the first state to retrospectively unseal original birth certificates to adult adoptees in 1995.