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Committee amends and advances bill restoring adult adoptees’ access to original birth certificates
Summary
House Bill 2-093 would allow adult adoptees in Virginia to obtain their original birth certificates; the subcommittee adopted an amendment adding an explicit option to indicate and preserve birth parent anonymity and reported the bill 6-0.
House Bill 2-093 would restore adult adoptees’ ability to obtain original birth certificates in the Commonwealth. The bill narrows its scope to adoption cases (excluding surrogacy) and adds a contact preference form that allows birth parents to indicate whether they wish to be contacted, and whether they wish to remain anonymous, with the option to update that preference later.
The patron described the bill as an equal-rights measure for adult adoptees and said it reflects work with the Office of the Registers and other stakeholders. "This is purely an equal rights issue," testifying supporter Susan Hartford said, identifying herself as an adoptive mother and member of the Virginia Adoptee Rights Alliance.
Senator Suterlein offered an amendment to add language explicitly allowing a birth parent to indicate the desire to remain anonymous and to submit an updated contact preference form later; counsel reported that amendment and the committee adopted it. The committee then voted to report the amended bill; the roll call showed six yeas and no nays.
Subcommittee leaders told the patron the bill had advanced with the amendment and would be recommended to the full committee.
The bill would require new administrative steps to record contact preferences and to make original birth certificates available to adult adoptees, per the bill language. The subcommittee recorded no organized opposition in today’s hearing.
