Question about giving up a child and the child's birth certificate?
By law in all U.S. states, when a parent gives up a child (relinquishes his/her parental rights) or when the parent's parental rights are otherwise terminated, the child's birth certificate remains unsealed, unchanged and remains the child's only legal birth certificate. The birthparent cannot have it sealed even if s/he wanted to do so.
How does this law ensure the birthparent's identity remain confidential?
2008-02-12T23:14:21Z
Madre, I'm not talking about if the child gets adopted. I'm talking ONLY if the child is relinquished. Adoption is a separate event.
2008-02-12T23:14:58Z
Madre, I also meant to say, no they haven't changed. It was that way in 1994 as well.
2008-02-13T07:02:01Z
Iceburg, I've already addressed the fact that this is pre-any adoption taking place. This is with regard to the relinquishment only.
2008-02-13T07:05:19Z
Cathy, so then without abandoning the child, legally ('safe haven,' 'baby moses') or illegally, the law regarding relinquishing a child to be eligible for adoption does not keep a birthparent's identity confidential.
Anonymous2008-02-14T03:02:13Z
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My hamsters just died. I can't believe we're still discussing the bizarre, archaic and barbaric idea that a mother should in any way be allowed or encouraged to keep her identity secret from her own offspring.
It's not about her confidentiality and it never was. Only adoptees have to give up their identities this way. The story we're told is that it used to be done to protect us from being picked on for having unmarried parents. Well, plenty of folks have unmarried parents now and get through life just fine. This practice needs to stop, and if it didn't make adoptive parents feel secure, it would stop. A'parents have the power to stop it because their demand drives the adoption market.
"How does this law ensure the birthparent's identity remain confidential?"
It doesn't. There is no law that gives a mother a right to keep her identity a secret from her child after adoption. What there are, are laws that keep people from finding out about each others identity with ease. The sealing of OBC - which is first and foremost a law that discriminates against the adopted person - additionally keeps the adopted person from accessing his/her fmother's/father's name.
The sealing of the adoption records keeps the fmother/father from accessing the termination of parental rights document that they signed in a court of law in front of a judge! I know there is no "identifying information" on it - they never would have let me see the names of the prospective adopters. All I wanted was to see a copy of the fricking piece of paper that I signed. How can anyone claim that things weren't handled legally if they have no access to the documents that they signed?
Sorry, my hamsters are going in a different direction - whoa girls!
sorry this is not a very effective answer; best I can muster in this cluster-f*&K called adoption.
I would think that the only way for the birth parent to remain confidential is to put a 'jane doe' on the birth certificate..
If a child is born in a hospital and the birth mother does not fill out the paper work for a birth certificate, the hospital still files one with the name of the birth mother from there records.
I would think that if a birth mother does not want her name on any kind of birth record then she really needs to plan ahead. Meaning she can not have state medical cause they will have her name , and when she goes to a doctor she needs to pay cash and never tell them her name or go by a different name and hope they do not ask for proof.
Or wait until she goes in to labor and go to a hospital that does not know her and use jane doe as her name.
when i gave my son up for adoption in 1994. they gave me a copy of the original birth certificate. however i was the only one that recieved that copy. he had a new birth certificate with his new name. on that it listed his adopted parents names as his parents. i can't remember if they said it was marked on their as an adoption or not. it was an open adoption however full names were never disclosed. just first names.
i am assuming the laws have changed. i have no idea how they would keep the information confidential if that is the way they are now doing it.