Law change grants older adoptees clarity

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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A new adoption law that took effect in Minnesota on July 1 simplifies what’s normally a very complex process for adoptees to navigate — that of trying to identify their birth parents, if they desire — and grants them the dignity of possessing a significant document to which nonadopted people historically have been entitled. Birth parents retain an ability to express their preferences about being contacted, though previously filed affidavits of nondisclosure are no longer in effect. The change provides for mutual respect among all parties in the adoption process — and relies on that same sense of goodwill going forward.

Until now, only those adopted in Minnesota after Aug. 1, 1982, could access their original birth certificate from the state Department of Health. Now, even those adopted before 1982 can do so. (Upon an adoption, the original certificate with a birth parent or parents’ names is replaced by one with the adoptive parent or parents’ names. That becomes — and remains — the adoptee’s official birth certificate.)

The development comes after decades of lobbying and efforts from adoptees to encourage further transparency for older adoptees in an age where adoption looks radically different from what it used to. Modern adoption is typically a very open process involving the birth parents, or at least the identity of the parents, to varying degrees in the child’s life.

There was a spike of adoptions following World War II, in a time when things like having children out of wedlock and embarking on single parenthood were highly taboo. Secrecy and anonymity were at the heart of the process then, with birth parents frequently signing nondisclosure forms that guaranteed their privacy. However, as of July 1, those affidavits have expired in Minnesota.

Regardless of written protections, the availability of DNA tests and websites like ancestry.com increasingly has prompted adoptees to pursue their origins independently. The results sometimes are uncomfortable and confusing, especially for birth parents and relatives who find themselves caught off guard by unexpected contact.

Allowing adoptees to legally access their birth certificate is a way to constructively control this process. What’s critical for those who have given up children for adoption to know is that they still have a say. The new law allows them to fill out a contact preference form, available with additional context on a Minnesota Department of Health web page, on which they can express the level of contact they’re comfortable with — including none at all or contact only through an intermediary. A biological child would be given that information upon request for a birth record. “Adoptees are usually very respectful of birth parents’ wishes regarding contact,” a representative of the Children’s Home Society, an adoption agency in Minnesota, told an editorial writer.

This law is especially significant as Minnesota historically is a national leader in adoption, especially international adoption. Following the Korean War, Minnesota became the No. 1 landing place for Korean adoptees. Minnesotan international adoptees can benefit from the new law if a Minnesota adoption agency was used and if the agency has identified information regarding the birth parents. The likelihood of the agency having identifying information can differ depending on the agency, country and decade of adoption, but it certainly is an avenue for international adoptees to explore.

This change to the law is the right step for Minnesota and will allow the state to honor its robust legacy of adoption. Those wishing to access a birth record that previously was unavailable to them can go to that same Health Department web page (tinyurl.com/mn-adoption) and apply. Scroll down for “Accessing original birth records (as of July 2024).” There is a $40 fee.