Adoption bill would open 50 years of birth records

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana adoptees who’ve spent much of their lives wondering who heir birth parents are now have a better chance of finding out.

A bill on its way to the governor’s desk would open up nearly 50 years worth of birth records.

It’s something many supporters of the bill have worked toward for years.

“I’ve been doing it for probably 10 years,” Pam Kroskie said of the time she spent working on promoting the adoption bill.

She’s made the Statehouse her second home during that decade, urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow adoptees like herself access to birth records.

As of today, people adopted before 1994 have been denied that information.

“I think the biggest thing is that it’s a human rights issue,” she said. “No one ever has realized that.”

But one man who did was Indiana state Sen. Brent Steele. He authored the bill, citing the value of an adoptee knowing their parents medical history as a reason it should be law.

“We had about three to four genetic diseases that were able to determine if you have that propensity by DNA testing,” Steele explained. “We now have over 6,000 diseases we know can be tested for genetically, so it’s very important.”

Even if it’s passed, birth mothers still control whether or not their child can contact them.

Birth parents must fill out a form with these four choices:

• Yes, I’ll have contact with my child.
• Yes, I’ll have contact but only with a confidential intermediary.
• No, but I’ll provide updated medical records.
• No, I will not be in contact at all.

“I think that changed a lot of their minds,” Kroskie said. “I think a lot of legislators saw that it gave the mother more choice, so I think they were more comfortable.”

Educating the public on the bill is Kroskie’s next step.

If Gov. Pence signs the bill, it wouldn’t go into effect until 2018, giving Kroskie and the state more time to make sure birth mothers are informed about the law.

Steve Kirsh, an adoption attorney with Kirsh & Kirsh P.C. on Indy’s north side, opposed the bill. He’s open to the idea of adoptees getting access to their birth records but is concerned that birth mothers won’t know to fill out the paperwork necessary to keep their privacy.

“The only way to make this bill fair is to let people know that they need to do something affirmatively if they want to protect their rights, if they want to keep their adoption confidential,” Kirsh said. “The state needs to step up and advertise the existence of this law.”