Latest News

OBC Access Bills: Update

First published on May 1, 2017 • Last updated on May 28, 2019

A list of OBC access bills that are still alive in the 2017 session, plus bills that may have come and gone and are now either dead or barely hanging on.

The Long and Costly Tail of Compromise

First published on April 20, 2017 • Last updated on May 23, 2022

Forty years ago, Minnesota enacted the nation’s first compromised system of access to original birth certificates. The damage continues today.

The High Price of Nope

First published on April 6, 2017 • Last updated on January 3, 2022

The security and legal structures surrounding access to original birth certificates are immense, complex, confusing, and humiliating, specifically for adult adoptees who are forced to maneuver through such systems.

The OBC Tracker Project

First published on March 27, 2017 • Last updated on January 3, 2022

I’m initiating a project today to collect stories and facts about the adoptee experience in getting what’s rightfully theirs. Including stories of people who don’t want to request anything.

I am NOT an Adoption Attorney

First published on March 26, 2017 • Last updated on February 23, 2024

An adoptee-rights lawyer works for one thing: securing civil and legal rights for adult adoptees.

Interactive Map of OBC Access

First published on March 25, 2017 • Last updated on May 30, 2017

As part of a 50-state review, I created a map to illustrate where access to an original birth certificate is unrestricted, conditionally restricted, or completely restricted.

When an Adoption Agency Goes Belly Up

First published on March 24, 2017 • Last updated on May 23, 2022

Independent Adoption Center, which operated in at least eight states, recently went bankrupt. What happens to its adoption records? We sent letters to find out.