NY Senate passes historic bill for adoptee rights

[WePurrsevere]

Good news! Now it needs to move out of the final Assembly committee and to the NY Assembly floor for a vote.

Please contact the NY Assembly Speaker, Heastie, ([e-mail]) and ask him to allow this to move forward. We only have 8 days left in this year's session to get it through the final vote before it can go to Gov Cuomo's for his signature.

As an adoptee I no longer 'need' mine to find my birth name or parents. I've already found mine, like others increasingly have, using DNA and Genetic Genealogy but I still should be able to access MY original birth certificate the same way as non-adoptees already can theirs.

http://westchester.news12.com/story/40592174/ny-senate-passes-historic-bill-for-adoptee-rights
(June 4, 2019)

The state Senate has passed a historic bill for adoptee rights.

The bill would allow anyone over the age of 18 who was adopted to obtain their original birth certificate. Adoptees have not been able to get their records since the 1930s.

-snip-
"At 51 years old, I'm still adopted. It defines me," she told News 12. "It's really important to know where you came from. Who you were. What your name was."

O'Connell says the bill is about equal rights, not about uncovering birth parents' names, which can often be found without a birth certificate through a DNA search.

The Senate passed the bill in a 53-6 vote. The bill is now up for a vote in the Assembly. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated his support for the proposal.