BOSTON — Sen. Anne Gobi (D-Spencer) and Rep. Sean Garballey (D-Arlington) testified Tuesday to the Joint Committee on Public Health in support of their bill to grant equal access to original birth certificates to all persons born in Massachusetts. This legislation would remove “gap years” in the birth certificate access law, allowing all persons born or adopted in Massachusetts to access their original birth certificates.
Gobi spoke on the need for equity in the availability of these birth records at the hearing and had this to say afterwards, “The passage of this bill would open the path to reconciliation for so many adoptees in the Commonwealth who have been unable to access important information related to their birth and history. Closing this loophole is the first step in that process.”
The bill, H.2294/S.1140, is important as the current law in the state denies the right to have a record of one’s birth to adopted persons born in Massachusetts between July 18, 1974 and Jan. 1, 2008. Following a practice that was common then, Massachusetts sealed adoption records from July 1974 until 2008 when they embraced the trend towards transparency and allowed adoptees to access their original certificates. The law change, however, only applied to those adoptees born before the records were sealed (July 1974) or after the law was passed (January 2008), creating a 32-year gap between that has left thousands of adopted people unable to access their original birth documents. The bills filed this session would amend the current law to remove date-based restrictions in providing original birth certificates to adult adoptees, creating a more equitable system for those who have struggled to obtain these important, life-affirming documents.
Jean Strauss, a filmmaker from East Brookfield who has documented adoption reform for 30 years, was one of the people who testified about the need for change. Strauss, whose film, “ADOPTED: For the Life of Me,” aired on PBS, recalls, “When I filmed the ‘Opening Day’ in 2007 when adoptees born on or before July 17, 1974 could request their record, witnessing citizens seeing their original identity for the first time was profoundly moving. But it was heartbreaking to know that anyone born after that specific date was not going to have the same right. Today was a huge step forward in providing equal access to ALL persons adopted in Massachusetts. Sen. Gobi has provided amazing and tireless support of this effort.”
For more information on the bill, contact Senator Gobi’s office by email at Anne.Gobi@MAsenate.gov.