[RKnotts]

We will ever find out who we once where? Will the government ever wake up and say "hey, these citizens deserve the right to know where they came from..." The government will allow me to fight or even die for them in the armed forces. The makes me pay taxes, but won't give me the honor of knowing who I originally was.

Why??? what is the big deal...



Just putting my thoughts out there...


RKnotts

[snuffie]

I Agree!!
One of the most frustrating things I have ever faced was to not be able to obtain my original birth certificate.
It is very sad not to be able to even know your nationality, your heritage etc. and to be made to feel like you are doing something wrong by trying to find out.
I truly believe that the laws need to be changed and I hope that someday soon they are.

[bajohnson]

Add my "I Agree" on there too! We will never have a voice until we are united and speak with one large voice. Thats why we need to support both financially, and through prayer those that are taking the fight to the government. If anyone has any ideas, Speak up!
B

[RKnotts]

Thank you for your support...

I appreciate it really...

[allabouthorses]

You know, we adoptees have a lot in common, but we also have HUGE differences. I have noticed that a lot of people who are in reunion were adopted recently. I, for instance was adopted 21 years ago.

I registered on adoption web sites and waited about 7 or 8 months before I got a response. All my birth mother had to do was decide to search, hop on a search engine, and she found me within minutes. I knew my birth date, birth weight, the hospital I was born in, and my birth parents' names. I'm also a very uncommon ethnic mix, so I stood out.

I have read so many posts from people who are still searching and have hardly any information, and it just hit me how awful that must be! I can't even imagine!

So, I jut want to send out a great big hug to all the searching adoptees, birth parents, birth relatives, and adoptive parents who are supporting their children in their searches. Something MUST be done about this. It's not right that all these people should never know their bloodlines, or how their children turned out. It's just not right.

[RKnotts]

I agree it is not fair. I spent 3 years in the military, I pay taxes and I live a fairly ethical life.

However, when it comes to being able to find out where I came from... where my Bfamily is... and the possible siblings that I was split from... It is as if I am then not considered a citizen of this great country.

We have fought hard over the years to continuously have the rights and freedoms that our country was founded on. However when it comes to the freedom of an adoptee. The rights disappear.

Maybe they should add to the Constitution a line that states, "if you are adopted, don't bother to ask who you once were!"

[RKnotts]

My biggest problem is that I keep getting the run around on who I need to speak to... I was born in New Mexico and adopted out of Anderson Indiana. I hear from Indiana that my records were sent to NM, I hear from NM that they would stay in IN. Then IN tells me of some water pipe break several years ago and destroyed a ton of adoption papers...

I am decently educationed. I am working on my second Masters degree and tend to spend time reading a great deal, but when I get information about my records and all it seems is that they keep getting moved, ruined or just plain missing, how can I compete?

[didda]

i am a bmom . . . my daughter and i went to the vital records office yesterday to obtain a copy of her ammended birth certificate. she lives out of state and is visiting.

before we went, i called to ask for directions and also to ask about obtaining a copy of her original birth certificate while we were there. i was told that "those records are sealed" and cannot be opened without a court order. very few records ("we have 3 or 4 a year") are opened by a court order and only when health issues are involved. naturally i asked "even if we are both there together and we are both adults?" . . . "not even then" was the reply.

as far as the state is concerned, i never gave birth to her. i was dismissed as non-existent. i am an un-mother, my pregnancy never occurred.

after i hung up the phone with the vital records office, i called the hospital where she was born. i will be making a visit to them next week to obtain a copy of my hospital records. i may not be able to obtain a copy of her original birth certificate (even though one was mailed to me shortly after she was born, it was lost along with my copy of the adoption papers ~ i suspect my mother had something to do with the disappearance of these papers) but i know i am entitled to a copy of my own health records. surely the hospital will not have changed my labor and delivery records to her adopted mom's name. . . . . or did they? . . . . no, they couldn't have, they sent me the bill.

[StarryNight™]

I totally agree when I joined the Navy back in 89 they put me through all kinds of crap trying to get me enlisted. I had no idea I was adopted back then and they knew it from my birth certificate. But never told me during the headaches. I stayed in for a LONG time! But last year when I tried to go on holiday to England, the goverment gave me an even bigger headache and denied my passport twice until I could prove who I was. Affidavits, school records, baptism stuff, you name it. I said pretty ironic You (the government) will let me work for you but not take a **** holiday! I do not think we will ever get the truth about how our adoption took place as in procedures, expectations, etc. Heck we are lucky when we do find our birth families. I am one that has just recently found my birth mom and found dad back in June. So it can happen, but you have to have tenacity and alot of audacity lol. Best wishes to all.

[annelizly]

i totally agree!
the only reason i found my birthparents was because my state (michigan) in the last five years changed its law. They now have an intermediary. this is when one person(in this case, me) called the court asking to find my bparents. the court then contacted my bmom and told her i was looking and that they would exchange our info if she agreed. she didn't, she wanted everything to stay sealed. she took it to the judge. he said"everyone is adults here. if she wants to find her birthdad it is up to the two of them"(bless him!!!) they then called bfather and he agreed. through him i also found out who my bmom was cause HE KNEW
I now know who i was, what name i was born with, my nationality and my genetic make up and medical history. all things that every human being has the right to know. I am thankful that the laws have changed here but still wonder if it is right that i still had to pretty much beg for that info. every state should have this law!!! its a god send!!!!

[Jocarrol]

There is a petition for the congress of the U.S. to amend the constitution that when you turn 18 you can obtain your original birth certificate. I downloaded it from the computer and am trying to get as many signatures as I can get.

Also, please go to F.O.R. and sign the petition. Florida Open Records.

I am still waiting for obc and sealed records from the state of Tennessee. I hope to know something by this time next year.

I lost my adad when I was sixteen and my amom was abusive. they are both dead now. I would so love to find my birth family.
I had my other name until I was six, when I was adopted. I can't understand why they had to change my name. I am 48 now and for the life of me I can't remember what my name was before I was adopted??? I have wanted to find my birthmom since I was young and the state welfare department told me the records were sealed. They told me "why do you want to know?". Like it was an insult to my aparents. I was left when I was four, with my three brothers and I want to know what happened! I wonder does my birth family ever think about us? Were we abandoned or where we taken away?? I want to know!
I feel I have the right to know. All of us have the right to know, if thats what we want. Sure, I might be rejected and that will hurt but I can handle that because no matter what happens I have a place to go to when I feel like talking and people do care and they do listen.
Well...that's all for now.
Jo

[RKnotts]

I would rather know who my bfamily is and be rejected by them than the "not knowing" that I currently have. It is horrible sometimes to look into the mirror and wonder exactly where your "features" came from and come to the realization that you may never know.

[6kiddos]

I am an adoptive mom and I wanted to add my support here. Several people have asked me about what we are going to tell our child someday about his birth family (he was in the foster care system before we adopted him)...some have even suggested that he really doesn't need to know anything. I disagree.

There are people all over this world who are researching their ancestry (my uncle is almost obsessed with tracing our family tree back as far as he can) and this is understood and supported by our society, but an adopted person tries to find out where he or she came from and society wants to hush them up! It isn't saying that the adoptee doesn't love their adoptive family, they just want to know more about who they are! Heritage is important to people...my relatives eat lutefisk and lefsa each year at Christmas and believe me, it isn't for the taste! Traditions that carry on a person's heritage tie you to something bigger than yourself...they tie you to a larger group of people and give you a sense of identity. I want my son to be able to celebrate his ancestry both in our family and in the one he was born into!

[RKnotts]

It makes my heart smile (yes that is cheesy) to hear that there are aparents that are willing to allow their adoptive child have that choice. I do not have that... not to mention that my amom tends to change her story every other day to confuse me.

Anyway, it may not mean much coming from me, but may God bless you...

RKnotts

[GailLane]

When I read these stories it makes me want to go find the people who wrote these laws and find out if they were ever touched by adoption. I know alot of families are hurt by adoption when the birth mom or dad came back and wanted their child, but it seems in all of your stories that is not the case. Alot of my post I say I am giving up but, when I read your stories I have to believe if I just stay strong My Bdaughter will come and look hopefully on this site because there are alot of caring people here. I wish all of you the best of luck and with all of the people looking and praying for a reunion it will happen things happen in numbers. Good Luck