For decades, adoptees such as me in Illinois were denied access to that most basic document. We could vote, buy a house or ...

Decades ago, the birth records of adoptees were being sealed in most states to try to protect the confidentiality of birth mothers, particularly those who were unwed and faced the stigma of having a ...

How press access to governors in California has changed throughout the years. Legislation addresses an adult adoptee’s right to accessing their own original birth certificate. To combat food ...

Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, has authored a bill that would change how California handles requests from adopted people who want to obtain their original birth certificates. Hector Amezcua ...

California has long been a leader in civil rights, but there is one glaring exception: adult adoptees in our state are still denied the right to obtain their own original birth certificates. This ...

Photo caption: Since a new law took effect in August, the Louisiana Vital Records Registry has processed nearly 1,000 requests for original birth certificates from adults who were adopted as children.