Adopted people can start getting N.J. birth records revealing their parents

[Common]

For as long as I can remember in NJ if you were adopted you were not allowed to get your natural birth records to know who your natural parents were. WHY ? I have no idea why that law was in place but it was.

Seems next month the law finally gets overturned

A law passed after 34 years of relentless lobbying that will allow adopted people to obtain their original birth certificates containing information about their parents, their medical history and identity will take effect in January. State Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett released an announcement late Friday as a reminder that birth parents who wish to have these documents redacted of their name must make that request by no later than Dec. 31, 2016.
So far, 166 birth parents have filed a request to hide their name and identifying information, 77 have requested direct contact, and six have requested to be contacted through an intermediary, such as an adoption agency, health department spokeswoman Donna Leusner said.
The department has received 476 applications from adopted people seeking their birth certificates.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/long-awaited_law_opening_adoption_records_begins_j.html #incart_river_home

[Standing Wolf]

Potential unintended consequences? Fewer babies being available for legal adoption - instead being sold on the underground market, abandoned or killed? More pregnancies being terminated? Think about the circumstances of many natural parents - the circumstances that lead them to give up custody in the first place. How many, presented with the knowledge that their identities could become known to the child one day, might very well do anything but act in the child's best interest?

[Boris The Animal]

That's a can of worms that would be best served unopened for the reasons Standing Wolf stated.

[Standing Wolf]

Not only that, but I am familiar, professionally, with the aftermath of many "reunions" of adopted children and their natural parents, and trust me - for every heartwarming Oprah moment, there are at least a half dozen nightmare scenarios, some of which would turn your stomach. You don't want to know. This is a bad idea.

[Boris The Animal]

Not only that, but I am familiar, professionally, with the aftermath of many "reunions" of adopted children and their natural parents, and trust me - for every heartwarming Oprah moment, there are at least a half dozen nightmare scenarios, some of which would turn your stomach. You don't want to know. This is a bad idea.And what of the situation where an adoptive child who is being raised by loving parents, is not of age yet and discovers a parent who wants to take custody? I guess I'm going off tangent a bit when I think of an episode of SVU where Capt. Cragen has that kind of dilemma.

[Don]

I don't have a problem with it as long as its voluntary with all the people involved.

[FindersKeepers]

Not only that, but I am familiar, professionally, with the aftermath of many "reunions" of adopted children and their natural parents, and trust me - for every heartwarming Oprah moment, there are at least a half dozen nightmare scenarios, some of which would turn your stomach. You don't want to know. This is a bad idea.

It turned out very badly for a former neighbor of mine. She'd had a baby boy when she was just 14 and he was adopted by an older couple in CA who spoiled him. She never even shared the story with me until he contacted her when he was 19 and wanted to meet her. She was so excited then -- she had such high expectations. I was excited for her. She flew out to CA and came back in tears. Her son had tried to force her to have sex. It was beyond a nightmare for her and I don't know if she ever had any communication with him again. We moved soon after that incident and we lost touch but it devastated her.

While I understand that adopted kids probably yearn to know their "roots," there was a reason their mothers put them up for adoption and I can't see tearing open those old wounds.

Just opening Pandora's Box.