Groups Take Sides in Illinois Adoptee Birth Certificate Debate

(Springfield, IL) — A number of organizations have chosen sides over legislation, House Bill 4623 sponsored by State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), to grant adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates.

According to the Clerk of the Illinois House records, the “for” and “against” and “neutral” stack up like this:

Proponents: Adoption Advocates of America, Midwest Adoption Center, Adoptive Families Today, The Cradle, Agudath Israel of America, Jewish Federation, Voices for IL Children, National Association of Social Worker-IL Chapter, IL Psychiatric Society.

Opponents: IL Citizens for Life, Concerned Christian Americans, IL Dept of Public Health (for fiscal reasons).

No Position: Catholic Conference of IL, Chicago Bar Association, Lutheran Social Services of IL, Child Care Association of IL, and the American Adoption Congress.

Other organized opponents to the bill include Bastard Nation, the Green Ribbons, and Illinois Open, according to adoptee rights activist Marley Greiner of Ohio.

State Reps. LaShawn K. Ford, Naomi D. Jakobsson, Sidney H. Mathias, Lou Lang and Karen A. Yarbrough have joined as co-sponsors of the bill.The Illinois House Adoption Reform Committee approved the legislation, 8-1, on March 13.

The measure provides for unfettered access to the original birth certificate for adopted persons born before January 1, 1946. Adoptees born after January 1, 1946, will have to wait until April 1, 2009.

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(Chicago resident and adoptee Brook Horwitz at Feigenholtz’s March 10 bill announcement press conference to express her support for the proposed legislation to grant adoptees access to their original birth certificates.)

The legislation now faces the full House–and whole lot of cyber chattering and clanking.

IL House Committee Approves Rep. Feigenholtz Plan to Grant Adult Adoptees Original Birth Certificates

(Chicago, IL) – The Illinois House Adoption Reform Committee today approved legislation, 8-1, that enables Illinois adult adoptees to obtain copies of their original birth certificates.

The measure, HB 4623, sponsored by State Rep. SARA FEIGENHOTLZ (D-Chicago) provides for unfettered access to the original birth certificate for adopted persons born before January 1, 1946. Adoptees born after January 1, 1946, will have to wait until April 1, 2009.

Since 1947, original birth certificates of adopted persons have been sealed under Illinois law and available to adult adoptees only via court order or in cases where the adoptee is matched with a biological relative on the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange.

Feigenholtz’s legislation, HB 4623, would undo the 1947 law.

“The right to one’s own identity is a basic and unalienable human right,” said Feigenholtz. “Existing Illinois law robs tens of thousands of Illinois adults of the right to know who they are.”

The Child Care Association of Illinois and Catholic Conference of Illinois registered no opposition. Bastard Nation fumed.

Illinois Adoptees to Receive Original Birth Certificates Under Proposed Feigenholtz Legislation

(Chicago, IL) State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) today unveiled legislation that would enable an estimated 200,000 Illinois adult adoptees to obtain copies of their original birth certificates.

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Since 1947, original birth certificates of adopted persons have been sealed under Illinois law and available to adult adoptees only via court order or in cases where the adoptee is matched with a biological relative on the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE).

Feigenholtz’s legislation, HB 4623, would undo the 1947 law.

The measure provides for unfettered access to the original birth certificate for adopted persons born prior to January 1, 1946, upon signature by the Governor. Adoptees born after January 1, 1946, will have to wait until April 1, 2009, to begin requesting copies of their original birth certificates.

The Feigenholtz legislation builds in a series of safeguards to ensure that birth parents seeking confidentiality have an opportunity to request that their identities remain confidential.

“The right to one’s own identity is a basic and unalienable human right,” said Feigenholtz, an adoptee. “Existing Illinois law robs tens of thousands of Illinois adults of the right to know who they are.”

Adoptee BROOK HORWITZ (left), a Chicago resident, highlighted Feigenholtz’s point. At the press conference, Horwitz said her birth certificate, displaying it for reporters, was “fictionalized.” Her adoptive parents were listed as her birth parents, among other incomplete or inaccurate items.

In addition to Horwitz, former Fighting Illini running back and former Denver Broncos full back HOWARD GRIFFTH, an adoptee; WGN radio personality, STEVE COCHRAN, an adoptee; State Rep. LASHAWN FORD (D-Chicago), an adoptee; and White Oak Foundation Executive Director MELISHA MITCHELL, a birth mother appeared at the press conference to back Feigenholtz’s bill.

Feigenholtz’s bill will be voted upon by the House Adoption Reform Committee in Springfield on Thursday, March 13. Feigenholtz chairs the panel. That’s the easy part.

The woodwork is already creaking from the frenzy of all the goofs scrambling to get out and let loose a primal scream. Feigenholtz has a tough battle ahead. No doubt.