I would like to know if any adoptees have experienced discrimination such as this:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3742537,00.html
I know I have had difficulties obtaining official documents because of my amended birth certificate.
Theresa
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When I was hired by my current employer, my citizenship was questioned because the human resources department did not recognize my amended birth certificate as valid. I was put into a position of having to explain, repeatedly, to numerous people in HR that I was adopted, which has nothing to do with my capabilities to do my career.
And of course, I then heard by the same numerous people how lucky I was to be 'chosen'.
Repeatedly.
There is also this horrifying instance of an adoptee being treated like a criminal at her DMV office because of her amended birth certificate:
http://73adoptee.blogspot.com/2008/10/adoptee-denied-drivers-license-in.html
vivian
The biggest discrimination is records being sealed - forever. No matter if an adoptee turns 18 - they still are not allowed their original birth certificate and papers pertaining to their adoption - because the state seals them away. There is also an underlying discrimination that many adoptees face. Society has deemed that an adoption means that the child no longer has a first family - the family that they are genetically linked to. Sure there are some great adoptive parents who keep those links - but the majority don't. Some go as far as making the adoptee feel guilty for wanting to search for their first family - purely out of a selfish need to pretend that the adoptee is born to them. Adoptees come from somewhere else before they are adopted. Relinquishment and adoption are performed by adults - the children have absolutely NO say in any of it. Then it's left completely up to the adults as to whether they decide to give their adoptee their truth - or hide it away. That's discrimination. Every child deserves to know where they came from. It should not be up to the adults to decide if it's 'good' or 'bad' for them to know. It's about the adoptee. It's their information to have. If a child had parents that tragically died in a car crash (for instance) - usually another family member would care for that child - they would be allowed to grieve - they would be told stories and shown loads of pictures of the parents that were lost. In adoption - too many don't understand the complexities involved. Adoption is about the child losing his/her parents. That child should be allowed to grieve. Should be allowed to keep contact with first family. Shown pictures. Told stories. No - this can't always happen - but to blatantly pretend that that child came from only within the adoptive family - is harmful to the adoptee. Those adoptive parents that keep secrets and lie - do it mostly for their own needs and feelings. Adoption is essentially a piece of paper handing over ownership of a child. Just because there is a piece of paper - shouldn't wipe out the child's former existence.
Anonymous
Nope.
I can't speak for anyone else though...I just know that things are a bit different in Canada, being a bit more adoptee-friendly.
I have never had issues with passports, marriage licensing, or anything of the sort. I was also able to obtain (although, not easily!) a copy of my daughter's OBC for her in case she wants it, but as I said, using my current birth cert. has not been an issue for me whatsoever.
Honest & Sober
I've never experienced the level of discrimination as shown in the article. However, I have occasionally experienced minor issues with clerks/consultants who won't accept my amended birth certificate as they considered the certificate not to be real/legal. I've found that talking directly to the manager about "my situation" quickly solves the issue.
Anonymous
I have not had this problem in the regards of trying to obtain documents or in any type of legal action. However, I have come across the "sympathetic souls" who have felt the need to lightly stroke your arm and tilt their head to the side while they have reassured me that there is nothing wrong with being adopted, how lucky I am to have been chosen (you know, out of the cabbage patch?!?) or the many physical differences between myself (tall fair skin blond/red haired & Irish) and my height impaired Italian mother with olive skin. I thank all those people for letting me know that I am a person to and deserve to be treated like everyone else.
I have to wonder though, how these sensitivity impaired types of people treat immigrants as well.