Advocates hope all state adoption records will be opened

New law applies to birth certificates after Oct. 1, 1983

Hartford — A new l aw signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will allow thousands of adoptees to obtain copies of their original birth certificates, bringing the state in line with more than a dozen others that have opened access to such records.

The law applies only to adults whose adoptions were finalized after Oct. 1, 1983, but advocates are hoping state officials will eventually go further and allow thousands more adopted children to get the same information.

“It’s a matter of when,” said Carol Goodyear, vice president of the adoptee rights group Access Connecticut. “It’s going to all be open eventually.”

States across the country sealed birth certificates of adoptees from the 1940s through the 1980s, often with the intent of protecting adoptive families or the privacy of unwed mothers.

But in recent years, a growing number of states have changed course. According to the American Adoptee Congress, about 15 states now allow adoptees full or partial access to birth certificates. Pam Kroskie, the organization’s president and an adoptee, said opinions are changing on keeping such information secret from adoptees.

“I think the general public realizes the earth is not going to explode if we allow adoptees and birth parents to reunite,” Kroskie said.

Connecticut’s new law, which takes effect July 1, 2015, will affect about 26,000 adoptees.