I help adult adoptees navigate the legal challenges in obtaining original birth certificates, citizenship, and other identifying information to which they are entitled. I also work to develop broader legal strategies to challenge and upend a legal framework that operates to deny adoptees their basic and fundamental truths.
If you are an adult adoptee seeking your truth, contact me to see if I can help. If you are an adult intercountry adoptee with citizenship issues related to your adoption, contact me about your issues. If you are a lawyer who wishes to join me in developing a broader legal strategy to challenge the secrecy of birth and adoption records, contact me to see if we can work together toward that end.
Legal advocacy to establish an unrestricted right to the original birth certificate is not easy. As an attorney, I certainly know that the laws vary from state to state and that legislative action is the best hope to secure equality for all adoptees. As an adoptee myself, however, I am committed to use the law in whatever way I can to to ensure equality: that an adult adoptee has a right to obtain his or her original birth certificate upon request, without discriminatory conditions or restrictions. That’s why Adoptee Rights Law Center is a founding member of the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition and the Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition.
—Gregory D. Luce, Founder/Attorney
Current and Ongoing Projects
United States of OBC
I track all of the state laws that restrict—or don’t restrict—the right to obtain an original birth certificate. See the results here or view interactive maps I’ve created.
Legislative Updates
I monitor legislation across the country and in the U.S. Congress that relates to an original birth certificate as well as to citizenship issues for intercountry adoptees.
OBC Flowcharts
I am creating flowcharts for each state to show how complicated or simple it is to obtain an original birth certificate. Here’s an example.
Legal Representation
This is the core of what I do. I represent adoptees and descendants who seek records or other information from Minnesota courts, agencies, or archives. I also represent intercountry adoptees across the country who need legal help in securing or proving US citizenship.
Past Projects
OBC Tracker
I surveyed hundreds of adoptees to determine the rate of success or failure in getting an OBC. Read more about the project here, and I roll out state-specific data when it helps in state legislative issues.