THE BILL
Legislation similar to that supported by ACCESS 2006 has precedence in a number of states. On January 1, 2005 New Hampshire began allowing adult adoptees born in New Hampshire to obtain a non-certified copy of their original birth certificates (OBC). This new law comes as a result of Senate Bill 335 (SB335), which passed in the NH Senate and House in the 2004 legislative session, and officially became law May 12, 2004. New Hampshire became the 7th state in the U.S. to allow adult adoptees access to their original birth certificate along with, Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Oregon and Tennessee.
The New Hampshire Legislation is compromise legislation that respects the rights of adult adoptees to obtain their original birth certificates as well as the rights of birth parents to express their desire for contact from their biological children. ACCESS 2006 recommends the following options be available to Maine’s adult adoptees and birth parents: Adoptees can request a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate by filling out a Preadoption Birth Record Application Form. The new law will allow a birth parent to fill out a Contact Preference Form to express their desire for contact with their biological child in one of the three following ways:
· I would like to be contacted
· I would like to be contacted but through an intermediary of my choosing, i.e. the placing agency, personal friend, etc.
· I do not want to be contacted.
If a birth parent chooses not to be contacted, they are required to fill out a Birth Parent Updated Medical History form. This form will be placed in the adoptee’s file at Maine Vital Records and will be given to an adoptee when he/she requests a copy of the original birth certificate. Adoptees and birth parents will be able to go to the Maine Vital Records website for detailed information on the new law and how to fill out the new forms.