Adult Adoptees In New Jersey Now Have Better Access To Biological Information
by Steve Tawa
TRENTON, NJ (CBS) -- With a new law taking effect, adult adoptees in New Jersey will now be able to get answers to nagging questions about their biological connections.
They'll be able to access family medical and cultural information, as a civil right to know their identity.
Since 1940, if a child was adopted in New Jersey, their original birth certificate was sealed and that document could only be accessed through a court order.
But, the New Jersey birth right law gives adoptees access to their birth records, including their birth parent's names.
Adoptee Joanne Spencer met her grandmother and several aunts.
"Even though I had a mother who did not want to meet me, I did not go against those wishes and I never forced myself on her," said Spencer.
When her birth mother died, they asked her to do the memorial service.
Birth parents who did not want a relationship with the children they gave up years ago were required to put in a request by the end of 2016 to maintain their privacy. They could have identifying information redacted - blacked out on all forms.
There are 300,000 sealed records in New Jersey.
