To be addressed Dear Senator, President, Janitor, anybody what will sit still long enough to listen:
I am a birthmother writing in SUPPORT OF HB 2810 and SB6496 which would grant access to one's original birth certificate,
My first child was born Nov. 21, 1972 when I was 17 years old, she was placed for adoption through my doctor and a private attorney.
I have no documents or statements indicating my identity would remain confidential, in fact the opposite is true. The ORIGINAL birth certificate, MY documentation of live birth was sent to the adoptive family, complete with my full name and address. The State not only never promised me confidentialy, they INSURED that I would not receive any.
This last year I undertook an extensive search to locate my oldest daughter, first to inform her of medical information which was discovered many years after her adoption, but mainly because I believe that it is HER RIGHT to know her genetic and family history. She was party to a contract under which she had no say, and thus as an adult her civil rights are being denied by withholding her birth documents.
My daughter and I are both disturbed that even now, in reunion, we are being denied access to our own personal records. The government is making the determination that this 25 year old is still a "child" and that I need to be protected from her, while meanwhile her adoptive parents claim to have lost all my papers, papers they should never have received in the first place.
I take great interest in the Open Records legislation being proposed in Washington and other states, since I hope to assist in legal reform for Florida in the near future.
Arlene N. Oakes
Sarasota, Florida
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