American Adoption Congress (AAC)
AAC Mission Statement “The American Adoption Congress is comprised of individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform. We represent those whose lives are touched by adoption or other loss of family continuity.
We promote honesty, openness, and respect for family connections in adoption, foster care and assisted reproduction. We provide education for our members and professional communities about the lifelong process of adoption. We advocate legislation that will grant every individual access to information about his or her family and heritage.
https://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/aac_mission_goals.php
The AAC is committed to:
- Increasing public awareness about the realities of adopted life for birth and adoptive families
- Changing public policies related to adoption practices in order to acknowledge adoption as an extension of family
- Enacting legislation in all states that guarantees access to identifying information for all adopted persons and their birth and adoptive families through records access and preservation of open adoption agreements
- Facilitating birth family reunification for all adopted adults, without prior restraint, through search and support group networking and/or social service assistance.”
Bastard Nation
Bastard Nation is dedicated to the recognition of the full human and civil rights of adult adoptees. Toward that end, we advocate the opening to adoptees, upon request at age of majority, of those government documents which pertain to the adoptee’s historical, genetic, and legal identity, including the unaltered original birth certificate and adoption decree. Bastard Nation asserts that it is the right of people everywhere to have their official original birth records unaltered and free from falsification, and that the adoptive status of any person should not prohibit him or her from choosing to exercise that right. We have reclaimed the badge of bastardy placed on us by those who would attempt to shame us; we see nothing shameful in having been born out of wedlock or in being adopted. Bastard Nation does not support mandated mutual consent registries or intermediary systems in place of unconditional open records, nor any other system that is less than access on demand to the adult adoptee, without condition, and without qualification.
Concerned United Birthparents (CUB)
CUB is the only national organization focused on birth parents – their experience, healing, and wisdom.
CUB supports adult adopted persons’ rights to access their original birth certificate, without restrictions or qualifications. Knowing one’s identity is a civil right which is being consistently abused by the practice of sealed records adoptions. All human beings have the right to know their original identity which includes their genetic roots, their medical history and biological history. While the vast majority of birthparents actually want to be reunited with their adult sons/daughters they lost to adoption, in the end, this is not relevant to us. We believe an adopted person’s right to their original birth certificate is absolute.
https://concernedunitedbirthparents.org/
North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
“NACAC believes that every adopted person has the right at the age of majority, to receive personal information about his or her birth, foster, and adoption history, including medical information, and educational and social history. NACAC supports efforts of adoptees to have access to information about and connections with their birth and foster families……Recognizing that many adult adoptees have a need for more complete information about their birth families, NACAC supports their right to this information and supports access to original birth certificates to any adult adoptee at age of majority.”
https://nacac.org/advocate/nacacs-positions/access-to-records/
Adoptee Rights Are Human Rights