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Archiver > GenChat > 2001-01 > 0980770228


From: Tracey Converse <>
Subject: [AFAR] FInally!!! AR DEM GAZ Editorials
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 06:10:28 -0600


Adoption measure would be just
Re House Bill 1057, which would allow adopted people (now adults) to access
their original birth certificates: There are many reasons why this would be
a just law, but the most important are civil rights and health history.
Requesting one's birth record is, for most people, a simple matter of
filling out a form and sending $5 to the Arkansas Department of Health. The
certificate sent to adopted persons is often called "amended" in that the
parents listed are the adoptive parents.
Many adopted persons want to know who gave birth to them, notwithstanding
their love for adoptive parents. This information is available to all other
citizens, and withholding this data from adoptees is a violation of their
civil rights and a form of discrimination.
It is becoming more apparent that genetics determines, to a large extent,
who we are and to what conditions and diseases we are prone. Moreover, the
state of genetic science is rapidly changing. A medical history compiled at
the time of a child's birth may be obsolete the next week, and certainly
will be inadequate by the time that child is an adult. There are many
heartbreaking stories of adopted persons suffering ill health and even
death through undiagnosed diseases.
Please give adoptees their records. Support HB 1057.
DAVID B. ELLIS
Cane Hill

Why they want to know
Re legislation to permit adoptees to learn the identities of their
biological parents: Many of my friends are adopted and all of them desire
to find their biological parents. Their reasons are not to interfere or
enter those biological parents' lives, but to learn about their own medical
histories, to determine why they have certain personalities, to understand
where they came from and to tap into a common root system.
Although I am not an adoptee, my sympathies go out to those who are.
Hopefully, legislation will be passed to allow these individuals to
determine the who, where, when and why of their existence.
BARBARA A. LEWIS
Conway


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