WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Birth Certificate Access 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:06.680 Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, there's 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:10.920 Chuck and this is short stuff, So let's stop wasting 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:18.160 time and begin speaking. Now. Yes, we are going to 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:23.560 talk about adoption birth certificate access and where did we 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:25.520 get this? Uh? Where do we get some of this? Rob? 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:27.520 I believe we found out how stuff works, but they 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.160 were published it from the Conversation. We're working largely from 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:34.440 an article by Andrea Ross, right, and this is all 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:39.760 about the thorny matter of uh whether or not, not 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:43.760 really whether or not, but the idea that a grown 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:47.640 up or maybe sometimes not even grown up adopted person 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:52.040 um might want to gain access to their original birth certificate. 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:54.920 And in many states in the United States, those are 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:58.640 sealed and you are not allowed to unless you jump 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:00.840 through a lot of hoops, which is really interesting, Like 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.840 you think access to birth certificates would be the most 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.600 boring thing you can think of, But um, I saw 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:10.800 it described as a basic human right to know your 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.840 genuine identity. UM. And that's a really good point. I 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.120 can't I It's just I'm sure it's so easy for 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:19.600 somebody like me on the outside to just be like, well, 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.120 sure you know, do that or don't do that. It's 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:24.000 is it that big of a deal. And then to 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.640 to put yourself in somebody's shoes is going through that 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:29.840 who wants to know who their biological parents are and 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.720 is not allowed as being prevented from doing that by 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:38.399 the state. I can't imagine anything more frustrating than that. Really, Yeah, 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:40.640 I got some thoughts, but we'll we'll pepper those in. 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:44.319 As it stands now, there are ten states in the 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:48.720 United States that offer um complete access to their original 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:54.440 birth certificates. Um. In eighteen states, I believe that you 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:59.440 need a court order, Is that right? Yeah? In eighteen states, UM, 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:03.640 what happens is they put your original birth certificate under 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:07.520 seal and they issue you a supplemental birth certificate that 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:09.760 doesn't have your biological parents names on it has your 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:13.120 adoptive parents names. And in those states, if you successfully 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.880 petition the court, they will unseal your original birth certificate 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.639 and then you can find out who your biological parents are, right. Uh. 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:23.639 And then in twenty three states there you can get 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:28.280 a redacted version, which I don't even see the point that. Uh. 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.960 And then in twelve other states they have restrictions that 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:35.120 allow for access. And this is the one I really 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:37.840 don't understand. It's just between if you were born between 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:41.000 certain time frames. So the best that I can come 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:43.800 up with for that is that there were laws passed 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:49.160 that that named like those dates that are still on 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:54.000 the books that are now affecting people today's but those 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.400 dates have been outlived. So now there's people who have 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.320 access to their birth certificate, whereas other people who were 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.120 born after a different date don't, which makes it arbitrary 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.800 and an easy low to overturn. Okay, all right, well 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:09.920 let's take a break and we'll talk about kind of 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.600 where this came from and how the culture has shifted 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:34.800 over the years right after this alright, so amending birth 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:39.040 certificates uh started I think I'm saying birth Uh this 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.920 started in the nineteen forties, originally to kind of keep 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:47.520 parents from interfering with the adoptive family of the child. 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:52.560 And there has been, um, you know, a big swing 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:56.480 over the last seventy years since since then as far 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:59.520 as what the norms are like, things have really changed 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.119 over the years in terms of how adoptions go down. Yeah, 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:04.160 because Andrew Ross points out that there's a lot of 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.560 people who think that the off the book's reason for 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:10.600 sealing birth certificates was also to protect the identity of 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.160 unwed mothers, because back in that time, if you're if 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.200 you were out it as an unwed mother who had 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:19.680 had what they considered illegitimate child that you put up 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.039 for adoption, Um, it could probably make it hard for 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:25.920 you to get a job. You might lose friends, your 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:28.440 neighbors might shun you. It was a big deal. And 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:30.800 so yeah, she's saying, like, we've really come a long 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.799 way since then. So if that's really the reason why 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:36.520 we were sealing birth certificates to begin with, it doesn't 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.400 make any sense anymore. Yeah, And there's a lot of 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.080 states that have come around since then. Obviously we mentioned 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:46.719 those ten that now allow complete access, but as we speak, 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.320 there are other states that are kind of in the 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.919 midst of enacting new policy changes. I know Tennessee in 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:57.800 Connecticut and Rhode Island all heaven and the last few years, 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.040 UM kind of put legislation for word that favor access 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.559 for uh. I keep saying kids, but I guess usually 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:07.479 you have to be over eighteen, right, Yeah, that's another 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.080 thing too. There are some so clearly there's a big 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:12.560 patchwork of laws, right and depending on what state you 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.880 live in, you might have, like you said, unfederal access 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:17.080 or no access at all. But then there's a bunch 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:20.279 of states that have laws that say, when you turn eighteen, 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:23.200 you can get your original birth certificate if you ask 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:28.880 for it. Yeah, and it's you know, adoption is different 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.600 across the board in all states anyway, So it's when 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:34.840 I was going through it, I just remember being shocked 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.719 at sort of every state has its own set of 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:41.680 rules and laws and um, which you know, obviously a 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:43.880 lot of people feel that's how it should be, states 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:45.760 just choosing the way they want to do things. But 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.599 there is no sort of straight ahead way that you 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:50.560 can say this is how adoption works. So it doesn't 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:54.159 surprise me that there's no straightforward reason or way that 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:57.480 people can determine or get their hands on their original 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:00.000 birth certificate. Right. So yeah, and like you said, there 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.640 are some changes on the horizon, Like I think Tennessee 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:07.440 said that um they said a parent, a birth parent 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:11.920 is no longer allowed to veto UM the their biological 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:15.359 child's right to access their original birth certificate, which is 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:17.560 a It's a feature in a lot of states as well, 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.719 where you can be granted access to if you petition 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.919 at court, but your biological parent has the right to 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:27.960 say Nope, they can't, I don't want that released. And 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.480 usually it goes the other way to the biological child 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:36.320 can also can can revoke or veto the release of 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:40.200 their own birth certificate to their biological parents. Yeah, I 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:42.719 mean it is. It is a thorny issue when you 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:45.880 start looking at kind of both sides, because you certainly 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.400 feel like it's a right to be able to know 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:51.839 where you came from. Uh, and it's certainly made a 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:54.160 lot easier these days with DNA testing, if that's something 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:58.480 that someone can afford to do. But uh, you also 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:02.640 think about, you know, the right of a biological mom 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:06.760 to retain their privacy, because if they had an adoption 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.120 plan to begin with it, one of the reasons may 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:11.040 have or one of the things that went along with 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.920 that may have been like, listen, this is why I'm 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:16.240 doing this. I don't want to be contacted. I don't 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.280 want to have a relationship. And you know, I guess 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:20.720 at the end of the day, even if they live 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.000 in a state where they can make contact, the biological 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:26.680 parents can still say, well, now I don't want a relationship. Yeah, 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:30.000 they can for sure. So to kind of like take 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:32.280 a middle ground for some of these states that don't 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:36.640 have unfederate access to original birth certificates, they've created something 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:41.600 called Confidential in their intermediary services, and it's basically like Tinder, 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:47.600 but for adoptions or biological families. Right, so one family 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:49.480 member can say, hey, I really want to get in 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:53.240 touch with my biological parents. Can can you see if 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:55.600 you can put me in touch with them? That that 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:59.960 service will contact the biological parents and the biological parent, 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:05.040 and so will they're swipe left or right right. Um, 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:08.040 Here's what I didn't see mentioned anywhere that I can't 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:13.000 quite wrap my head around is that these days, it's, Um, 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:17.600 I think it's very uncommon for adoptive parents too to 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:21.000 not share this information and to say like, no, I'm 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:23.560 not gonna let you know who this was. That's a 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.680 very old school sort of way adoptions used to go. 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:31.040 So I'm kind of wondering how much this matters in 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.800 these modern times where we're generally parents are pretty open 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.640 about saying like, hey, this is who your logical parents were. 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:38.840 If you ever want to get in touch with them, 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:41.280 we can try and do that one. Yeah, so um, 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:44.520 Andrea Ross sites one statistic. I'm not sure if it's 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.120 in the United States in general or if it's in 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:52.200 New Hampshire. But um, less than one percent, actually less 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.880 than three quarters of a percent of birth parents said 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.800 that they don't want to be contacted by um their 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:03.040 biological child ever. Yeah, that I want to know more 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:07.520 about that because that just says in states like New Hampshire, right, 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.240 But that seems like a very narrow sort of well, 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:14.559 states offering unrestricted access. So yeah, I don't know, it's 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.320 it's I guess it's kind of unclear. Yeah, well it 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:21.640 gives so if you have unrestricted access to your birth certificate, 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:25.800 I think the state some states give the biological parent 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:28.720 the right to say please like check the box like 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.120 don't I don't want to be contacted ever kind of thing. So, 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:34.840 like the the kid might be able to see who 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:38.000 the biological parent is, but there they will also get 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.760 a message thing like don't don't bother this, they don't 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.800 want to be contacted. Yeah, it's you know, this is 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:45.880 something I'm going to face one day as a parent 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:48.240 of an adopted child, and it's I think they say 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:53.959 that girls usually are more interested in this earlier than boys, 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.719 and that like in the teenage years, typically girls might 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:59.960 be a little more interested in making that connection. In boys, 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.800 it's like sometimes in their adult life. But you know, 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.079 this is something we're gonna face and we're always it's 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:08.680 always that thing where you you're gonna do We're gonna 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:10.319 do the right thing and be like, all right, if that, 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.160 if now is the time, we'll try. But there's always 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:17.079 that risk that biological mom or and or dad it's 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.240 just gonna say no, thank you, And then you know, 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:21.360 that's just something you've got to go through. Is a family. 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:23.640 It's tough, tough stuff, and that's one of the tough 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:25.800 parts about adopts. Yeah, but you guys are a strong family. 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:29.079 You can do it. Yeah, And you know, I would 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.840 love for there to be relationships one day, but that's 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.240 something that you know, you can't force them, So we're 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:36.520 definitely not one way or the other for sure. I 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:38.920 think that's a good thing to remember and to end 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.760 this episode on what do you think? I totally agree 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:47.320 and short stuff is out. Stuff You Should Know is 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.200 a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.439 Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app Apple podcasts, 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:55.439 or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.