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The Only Americans Legally Prohibited From Knowing Who Their Birth Parents Are: A Rejection Of Privacy Rights As A Bar To Adult Adoptees' Access To Original Birth And Adoption Records, Susan Whittaker Hughes Jan 2007

The Only Americans Legally Prohibited From Knowing Who Their Birth Parents Are: A Rejection Of Privacy Rights As A Bar To Adult Adoptees' Access To Original Birth And Adoption Records, Susan Whittaker Hughes

Cleveland State Law Review

Sadly, adult adoptees in America must confront the reality that, in most states, their right to access their original birth and adoption records is a very narrow right statutorily granted only to those who can show good cause. Part II of this paper will explore the reasons why adult adoptees search for information regarding their biological origins and the history of adult adoptees' access to original birth and adoption records. Part III will give a brief overview of the concept of constitutional privacy and discuss the several categories of privacy currently recognized in American law and the relationship between privacy …


Birth Certificates, Elizabeth Samuels Jan 2007

Birth Certificates, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

Birth certificates in the United States, which are issued by the states, have two different sections, and each section involves different privacy concerns. The first section, the legal record of birth, is always available to the adult whose birth it registers; access by other persons varies widely from state to state, ranging from a short list of specified relatives to the public at large. The second section of the certificate - which records health and medical information about the parents, the birth, and the infant - is used only for data collection and analysis, under regulations that protect the privacy …