This week Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert signed two bills that continue to abrogate the rights of Utah–born adoptees.
S345 turns Utah into a redaction state where birthparents have the “special right ” (1) to withhold the release of the Original Birth Certificate ; (2) to black-out identifying information on the Original Birth Certificate. The bill also eliminates the date-based restriction for adoptees finalized in 2016 and beyond.
Current Utah law requires access through court order only; those whose adoptions are finalized on or after January 1, 2016, require the written consent of a birthparent.
Neither the current or new law recognizes the right of all Utah-born adoptees to access and possess a copy of their own original birth certificates, without restriction or condition, a right that the not adopted enjoy without legal restriction.
H97 increases the age an infant can be legally abandoned anonymously through the state’s Safe Haven program to 30 days
Both bills passed without debate.
New York Adoptee Rights Coalition
