Press

“Many adoptees are critical of baby boxes, too. The boxes market themselves on anonymity; billboards reading, ‘Surrendering your newborn at a fire station delivers . . . No Shame No Blame No Names’ lead mothers in crisis to the organization’s hotline. But that anonymity means adoptees won’t have a record of their birth families or medical histories, says Gregory Luce, founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center.”

This website is run by Gregory D. Luce, a lawyer and adoptee, who draws on contributors and sources from across the country. Luce has a definite point of view in favor of equal access to birth records—and has also made his site a reliable clearinghouse for the status of the relevant laws in every state.

Historically, adoption laws have favored adoptive parents, who could return a disabled child, or in some states, a child of the “wrong race.” But that has begun to change, says attorney Gregory Luce, founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center. One emerging trend are measures that allow adult adoptees to legally vacate their adoptions.

“I think people are finally recognizing the human right to know who you are, and where you came from. And making adoption secret in this way, making birth secret in this way, is just an anachronism. It’s a human rights issue. It’s found its day, it’s found its advocates, and it is currently now a real movement.”

“Democrats, or generally those who supported the right to an abortion, have been hoodwinked,” said Luce about liberal politicians’ failure over the last quarter-century to recognize the danger of the safe haven movement. “And it’s come back to really bite them hard, now that we’re seeing the expansion of these baby boxes and safe haven laws.”

“This is a bill that has been bouncing around Congress now for about 10 years, and it’s fixing a massive loophole in current law that did not provide U.S. citizenship automatically to older adoptees; those who were essentially born prior to 1983.”

“Insight is also joined by Gregory Luce, an adoptee, attorney, and founder of Adoptee Rights Law Center, one of the organizations in opposition to AB 1302.”

Tens of thousands of children were adopted from other countries by parents in the U.S., only to discover as adults a quirk in federal law that meant they had never been guaranteed American citizenship. Much like the Dreamers, these adoptees are now fighting for legal status to ensure they can stay with the only homes and families they’ve ever known.

“The idea that your birth is secret and cannot be known is something that many adoptees internalize,” Luce said. “They feel that they should be ashamed about their birth.”

“Adoptee Rights Law Center founder Gregory Luce said people often forget that the original birth certificate ‘is not the birth parents’ birth certificate, it’s the adoptees’ birth certificate.'”

“Gregory Luce is an immigration lawyer and also an adoptee. He helps adoptees without citizenship obtain legal status. He says this problem started because of neglect from the U.S. government. It only cared about getting the children into the arms of American parents, not what happens to them as an adult.”

“Gregory Luce, a lawyer who tracks adoption laws, reports that only nine states allow adoptees unrestricted access to birth records. Indiana is among those that have begun to allow it under certain conditions, while 19 states and the District of Columbia still permit nothing without a court order.”

“‘Michigan has such a confusing and complex system that only lawyers or those invested in such a complicated bureaucratic framework could fully comprehend it,’ observes Greg Luce, a nationally recognized adoptee rights attorney.”

“Gregory Luce, a Minneapolis lawyer, is pulling together a national network of attorneys to help adoptees know their rights. For Luce, it’s personal. Born in Washington, D.C., in 1965 and adopted at a week old, he and his birth mother found each other years ago through an online voluntary registry, and he knows the identity of his birth father . . . .”

“‘At the heart of the issue is a complicated and secretive system set up for adoption records,’ said Greg Luce, attorney and founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center in Minnesota.”

“Gregory Luce, Libberton’s immigration attorney, has helped multiple people in this situation and said differences in the law mean that some adoptees automatically become U.S. citizens, depending on their age and which visa they entered on. But those who do not get automatic citizenship must go through the naturalization process; Luce noted that the fee, which is $725 and does not include paying an attorney, can be prohibitive.”

“Indeed, many birth mothers report they didn’t choose and weren’t legally guaranteed lifelong ‘anonymity’ from surrendered sons and daughters, says Gregory Luce, a lawyer and founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center, based in Minneapolis.”

“‘Adopted adults are discovering they are not citizens after thinking they were Americans all their lives,’ said Gregory Luce, an immigration and adoptee rights lawyer in Minneapolis.”

“‘An OBC is an essential vital record that everyone has access to except adoptees,’ said Greg Luce, founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center.”

“‘It’s hard to underestimate what this bill signals and what . . . (it) will mean for equal rights legislation in other parts of the country,’ said Gregory D. Luce, an attorney and founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center. ‘New York got it right. It has made it equal for adopted people and it has now set the bar for other states to follow.'”

“And as far as privacy goes, Gregory Luce, an attorney and founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center in Minneapolis, argues that getting direct access to a birth certificate is often more private than an internet search, which may turn up distant relatives.”

“‘At its core, what this new law does is discriminate against adoptees,’ said Luce, founder of Adoptee Rights Law, a Minnesota-based law firm that provides legal advocacy and representation for adult adoptees.”

What’s Wrong with “Un-Belonging?”: The Legal Right to Rescind your Own Adoption

Helping Minnesota Adopted Persons Prepare to Receive Original Birth Certificate Information

The Red Thread: Unraveling the Complexities of Intercountry Adoption, Citizenship, and Community Connection

Adoption’s Unfinished Business: A Roundtable Discussion with Mary Cardaras, Gabrielle Glaser, Gregory Luce, and Gonda Van Steen

“Personal Truth, Collective Fiction, and the United States of Secrecy,” part of Discussing Adoption: Driving Positive Outcomes in the Search for Knowledge, Past and Present

United States Congressional Staff Briefing: Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021, hosted by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute

“Adoptee Deportee: How Transnational Adoption Became an ‘Immigration Problem.'”

A coalition of Michigan adoptees and lawmakers are pushing for new state laws that would simplify the state’s adoption records system. On this episode of the Stateside podcast we spoke with three advocates about their adoption stories and why they want Michigan’s laws to change.

Gregory D. Luce is a Minnesota-based attorney born and adopted in the District of Columbia. He is the founder of Adoptee Rights Law Center and the executive director of Adoptees United Inc.

This is one reason why the Adoptee Rights Law Center and the Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition has designated for an annual big push to make changes on those fronts, known as the Adoptee Rights National Week of Action.

Greg helps adopted people navigate legal challenges in obtaining their own original birth certificates, securing  U.S. citizenship, and seeking information to which they are entitled.

Greg shares his story and brings clarity into the murky, secretive world of adoptees’ rights. Fascinating insights to help adoptees understand their identity.

“I am excited to introduce you to Gregory Luce today, the attorney behind Adoptee Rights Law. We get to hear some of Greg’s personal story today, including the five-year court battle it took for him to receive his records.”

“In this symposium, we gather contributors that reflect not only an array of scholarly disciplines, but a range of lived experiences related to adoption, including adopted people, birth/first parents, and adoptive parents.” — Symposium, Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School