On May 24, 2022, Louisiana came one step closer to restoring the right of all Louisiana-born adoptees to obtain their Original Birth Certificates without restriction, when the Senate Judiciary Committee A recommended Do Pass on HB 450 with a vote of 4-2. (The bill passed the House on March 28.). You can watch the 2+hour long hearing here. (marker 3:40)
There’s some terrific testimony from our friends Elise Lewis and Kenny Tucker from the Louisiana Coalition for Adoption Rights, who have been at it for years, the Louisiana Adoption Advisory Board, first mothers, adoptive mothers, and social workers, as well as bill sponsor Rep. Charles Owen and former lawmaker Danny Martiny sponsor of similar legislation in the past.
Opposition testimony, not so terrific, came from the usual suspects including Louisiana Foundation Right to Life, Louisiana Family, Forum, and St. Elizabeth’s Foundation. Cynthia Collins, head of the Louisiana office of the Justice Foundation/Operation Outcry, the outfit that nearly 20 years ago invented the suddenly-popular legal argument that Safe Haven laws negate the need for abortion, fretted over how OBC access would affect “confidentiality under Safe Haven laws.” Owen, a staunch conservative and “pro-life” lawmaker vigorously and articulately objected to their objections arguing as he did in the House, that OBC access is a right and has nothing to do with abortion.
My personal favorite hearing moment came with the ‘interesting” tete a tete (Marker 3:59) between Senate President Page Cortez and David Scotton, an attorney and adoptee. Scotten said he found some of the proponent testimony “offensive,” (including the sponsor’s) and that access to OBCs is not only NOT a civil right, but “disrespectful of birthmothers who chose adoption…Adoption is beautiful. Adoption saves lives.” He just didn’t seem to “get” how the sealed records process works. The dialogue must have gone on for five minutes. I haven’t transcribed it, but here is a snippet from the Louisiana Iliumnator. There are even better zingers on the video. Sen Cortez was kind.
Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, dropped in on the hearing and asked if adopted children are parties to a contract that they don’t get to sign. He pointed out that some children are adopted informally by family members or others without any kind of contract, yet the law does not prohibit them from accessing their birth certificates. He asked why an adoptee’s birth certificate is only sealed if two lawyers get together and “cut a deal.”
A lawyer who testified against the bill said birth certificates are also sealed in adoptions managed by an agency.
“So I’m born and I have an agency that dictates my rights into the future for perpetuity?” Cortez asked.
Congratulations to the Louisiana Coalition for Adoption Rights, the Louisiana Adoption Advisory Board, and everyone who has worked so hard over the years to restore adoptee rights in the state. You neatly deactivated the opposition. Let’s hope for good!
Now on to the Senate floor!
The Limited Action Alert issued by the Louisiana Coalition for Adoption Rights asking for people with Louisiana connections to contact Senate members is here. The floor vote will come any day now
New York Adoptee Rights Coalition
