Ohio Adoptees Gain Access to Birth Records

Sleeping baby resting hand in woman's larger hand
A new law will allow Ohio adoptees to have access to their
birth records.
Image:  Shutterstock
Thousands of Ohio adoptees will have the opportunity, starting today, to get their history, including potentially access to their birth parents, thanks to a new law granting them access to their adoption files and birth certificates.

Adults adopted between January 1, 1964 and September 18, 1996 can now request this information from the Ohio Department of Health.  It’s estimated that about 400,000 people will request this information, which was previously unavailable due to a court order from 1964, which made these records off limits.

After extensive lobbying, the records were made public again in 1996; however, the law was not made retroactive for those who were caught between the two legal actions.  This was due in large part to pressure from a variety of groups, including abortion opponents who worried access to these records would discourage expectant mothers from giving up their children for adoption.

The new law allows birth parents to opt in or out of having their contact information made public to adoptees.  It also allows birth parents to update their medical records so that adoptees can have access to this information.

“It’s about adoptees having the civil right to information that all other Americans can have about themselves,” said Betsie Norris, executive director and founder of Adoption Network Cleveland, which was heavily involved in the fight to change the law.

Ohio is the ninth state to make these records available.

In general, the response has been positive, though some birth mothers are hesitant to open themselves up to past trauma leading to the adoption.  However, it will be up to the adoptees to determine whether or not to contact their birth parents.

One interesting case is that of Cathy Doyle, who was born in New York but adopted in Ohio.  Her records remain unavailable to her because she was not actually born in Ohio, though future laws on the table may change that.  What makes her case unique is that she is the adopted sister of Ohio Senator Bill Beagle, who co-sponsored the new state law, in part because of her situation.

Doyle remains frustrated by the situation.   "Those are my records, and in all other circumstances parental rights expire when a child turns 18," she said. "But when it's an adoptee, it's a life sentence."



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