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Adoptee Birthright laws are successful in
Oregon, Alabama and New Hampshire*

 

State

Law Effective

Sealed Records

Birth Certificate Requests

Requests for Contact

Requests for
No Contact

Oregon
Alabama
New Hampshire

5/31/00
8/1/00
1/1/05

  107,730
~300,000
    24,000

9,193
3,885
   935

440
181
  42

83
3
12

Data is through January 2007 and is provided by:

OR:  Carol A. Sanders, Manager, Center for Health Statistics, Portland, OR 97232  http://oregon.gov/DHS/ph/chs/index.shtml
AL:  Dorothy Harshbarger, State Registrar and Director, Center for Health Statistics, Montgomery, AL  36103  dharshbarger@adph.state.al.us
NH:  William Bolton, Director Vital Statistics, Concord, NH  03301  http://www.sos.nh.gov/vitalrecords/
February 2007

* - No fiscal note was required for enactment of these laws in any of these states. The proposed Maine bill for 2007 is modeled after those in these three states.

Access-to-birth-certificate laws are successful in:


  1. Alabama
  2. Alaska (never sealed)
  3. Delaware
  4. Kansas (never sealed)
  5. New Hampshire
  6. Oregon
  7. Tennessee

Adoption rates are higher in states allowing access.
Abortion rates are lower in states/nations allowing access.

Access-to-birth-certificate laws are successful in:

  1. British Columbia
  2. Finland
  3. Germany
  4. Israel
  5. Holland
  6. New South Wales
  7. New Zealand
  8. Scotland
  9. United Kingdom
  10. Victoria, AU
  11.  and many more

Biological parents have no protection from unwanted contact under current law. The current proposed legislation in Maine, for the first time in ME history, gives biological parents a voice in the process!

CONTACT: Roberta Beavers, Maine State Rep, American Adoption Congress, 207-748-3432

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