INDIANAPOLIS — Lawmakers are one step closer to unsealing 52 years of birth records for Hoosiers put up for adoption after a Senatebill earned approval in a House committee.
Senate Bill 91, authored by Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, would allow Hoosiers put up for adoption to request records from their birth parent. The bill would effect adoptions from 1941 to 1993, when Indiana enacted a law to seal birth records, and would put the records from that time period on par with adoptions prior to 1941 and after 1993.
Steele said SB 91 is simple compared to a similar bill he wrote last year. Under the bill, an adoptee would have access to birth certificates and could submit a request to their birth mother through the state for contact and medical records. Steele said the birth mother would then have four options: they could contact their child directly; they could contact through a third party; they could deny contact; or they could deny contact but allow the release of medical records.
If the state is unable to locate the birth mother, the default would be to leave the child free to contact their birth parent.
The bill passed out of the House Judiciary Committee 11-2 after hearing testimony that was all in favor of the bill.
Jennifer Fahlsing, an adopted child and someonewho gave her childup for adoption in the 1980s, said times were different 30 years ago.
“When I got pregnant at 16, it brought shame to my family,” Fahlsing said. “I was told to give up the child. I wasn’t given any other options.”
She said fears that this bill will violate birth mothers’ privacy are unfounded and that she was given no such promise of privacy when she gave up her child.
Some adopted children have no interest in meeting their birth parents but want access to medical records and their official birth certificates. Falsing said something as simple as getting a passport can become entangled in legal red-tape for adoptees who don’t have access to their birth certificates.
Adoption advocate Priscilla Kamrath said family medical history such as breast or kidney cancer can be vitally important of adopted children, especially as those adopted in the ‘50s and ‘60s get older.
Rep. Thomas Washburne, R-Evansville, was one of the two “no” votes in the committee. Washburne said he was still uncomfortable with the default setting of the law being full access if the state can’t locate the birth mother.
“I just can’t get past the expectation of privacy,” Washburne said. “For that I have to vote no.”
As written, the bill wouldn’t go into effect until July 1, 2018, giving the state plenty of time to alert residents to the change in the law. SB 91 will eligible for second reading before the full House on Tuesday.