Regarding birth certificates, in a perfect world.......?

b) The OBC issued with a straightforward adoption certificate or similar legal document which lists the adoption and adoptive parents' details. Amen.

I prefer this because it does not destroy my identity. It does not lie and say that my ap's gave birth to me, when in fact, I was not even placed with them until I was 6 months old.

A BC is a record of the biology - an AC should be enough for legal purposes without recourse to having to amend the OBC.

Then again, in the UK, the amendment's made on the actual record that's entered in the BMD index, which means they know whether or not they can issue an OBC, which to me'd give good use of an AC. Unfortunately, most companies have had little experience dealing with ACs, and don't always believe that they can be legal proof in the same way that the OBC can be for non-adoptees.

I'd go for b). I think a birth certificate should be just that - a certificate of how things were at the baby's birth, and that everyone should have one. Adoption documentation should be additional to it, not instead of it.

I guess I just don't like revisionist history.

Edit: AnnaBell has a good point about identity theft. It should be possible to add "An adoption certificate has been issued for this child" on the BC, possibly with the child's new name if different, to reduce the possibility of that happening.

I'm not an adoptee, so my opinion probably only counts for so much on this issue, but honestly, I'd rather option b). I just don't need my name on a BIRTH certificate. It's just...silly. An adoption certificate would be plenty.

The only issue I've ever heard about that, from an administrative perspective where I live is that it creates some complication with using the Birth Certificate as our "source" document...Having a second document accompanying that could create problems with fraud, or put the adoptee in question at risk of having their identity used for nefarious purposes (credit seeking, crimes, etc.).

Maybe something right on the BC, like an addendum? My husband, who works for vital stats, has commented before that if they were on the same piece of paper, so only using one document, it would ensure better protection for the adoptee, so that again, identity theft/criminal activity couldn't occur based on the OBC or adoption certificate exclusively.

Other than administrative/security junk though, I would have no issue with a separate adoption certificate.

ETA: I thought of something else...In our case, again, because the birth certificate is a security thing where we live, what if there was just something on the back of it verifying that an adoption certificate was issued, so that in the event someone is trying to fraudulently use the BC of the adoptee, they would be asked also for the adoption certificate? I'm not sure if that would work, but it would prevent the identity theft issue, as far as people using the OBC of an adopted person to get credit and other identifying documents (passports, driver's licenses, etc.) fraudulently...Just a thought I had very early in the morning. Please forgive my incoherent rambling. ;-)

I would choose option B. There is no reason to amend a birth certificate in the first place. Keep the OBC as-is and issue a new document as an adoption certificate-addendum.

My reasons are simple- keep the lies out of the practice as often as possible.

b) The OBC issued with a straightforward adoption certificate or similar legal document which lists the adoption and adoptive parents' details.

This would be the Truthful, Honest and Legal information of all involved.

Being a Taiwan adoptee with legally known parents, I like that I have my OBC - with my adoption finalization decree. To say I was born from my adoptive parents would be false.

So I'll just copy Theresa's answer:

B. Just my original birth certificate and an adoption decree.

As an adoptive parent, I don't need an amended birth certificate that says I gave birth to my children. Of course, I do need some kind of documentation that says I am their legal parent and that would serve as identification for different purposes. Even sports clubs are requiring that you show your child's birth certificate!

So if there was some document that satisfied the legal requirements that didn't falsely state that I gave birth to two children in a country that I hadn't visited until years later, I'd be fine with that. I think that option "B" is pretty close to that.

B. I have four parents, but birth certificates are official documents for recording what actually happened when I was actually born. I don't see any reason for an amendment, ever, because it is always a lie.

I have plenty of legal adoption papers that legally make me part of my adopted family, whom I love very much. Why does this require government lies? Why does it require this bizarre, ridiculous fantasy that people gave birth to someone they did not in fact give birth to? In an individual, this denial of reality to the point of altering government documents would be considered a form of insanity. In governments, apparently, it's just fine.

B. Just my original birth certificate and an adoption decree

Because I was only born once.