Adopted Children's Rights to Know Their Biological Parents

Introduction

People who adopt children all have their own unique reasons for doing so, but the bottom line for most adoptees is the harsh reality that they feel unwanted and unneeded by their birth parents — feelings that can devastate even the most mature adults. Given that there are more than one million children adopted in the United States each year, the question quickly emerges concerning the rights of these young people to learn more about their biological heritage. This question has assumed greater importance and relevance in recent years due to innovations in DNA testing that provide proof-positive evidence about parentage. Moreover, as the heated debate over the validity of same-sex marriages continues, increasing numbers of gay and lesbian couples are adopting children in the United States.

Against this backdrop, the question concerning the rights of adopted children has been forced to the forefront of American politics and morality, but the issue remains largely unresolved when it comes to whether adoptees have a fundamental right to learn more about their biological parents. To determine the facts, this paper reviews the relevant literature, including a case study of an adoptee, a background and overview of adoption in America, and what adopted children can do to learn about their biological heritage. A summary of the key findings concerning the rights of adoptees is provided in the conclusion.

Case Study: An Adoptee's Search for Answers

The letter in Appendix A was written in February 2018 to the biological parents of an adoptee born on July 7, 1970, in Alma, Georgia. The boy was adopted by his great-aunt and great-uncle on his biological mother's side at the age of four years. The adoptee has no recall of the first four years of his life — memories tend only to form and be retained beginning around age two¹ — but therapy beginning in his forties brought to light the fact that something must have traumatized him, closing him off to love and deep relationships and opening the doors of addiction. This resulted in two DUIs in a short period of time, at ages 39 and 42. Those incidents spurred significant self-discovery, which led to the therapy mentioned above.

The only known facts are that his biological parents met in a mental hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia, where both were being treated for mental health issues. They knew each other for only three months before they married, and a year later the adoptee was born. Their marriage dissolved a year after that. Subsequently, his biological mother experienced another downward spiral, and his biological father eventually went to prison for drug smuggling. Both biological parents are now deceased, which makes this a fitting time for further self-discovery.

Other adoptees have faced similar crossroads. Clifton Crais, author of History Lessons, describes an overarching need to learn more about his biological parents, including his mother, who attempted suicide when he was young. Crais writes: "So Mom, I want to know more about your life. What I want to say is, 'I want to know what happened between us, you and me. And I want to understand what I couldn't then.'"² It is not surprising that many adoptees are reluctant to actually pursue a reunion with their biological parents, given the powerful unknowns involved and the implications for adoptive families. In sum, the secrecy rule has created several generations of adoptees who are desperately interested in learning more about their biological parents, but the picture is slowly changing.