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Committee forwards bill to give adult adoptees access to original birth records
Summary
House Bill 47, which would allow older adoptees access to their original birth records, cleared the committee on a 12‑3 vote after testimony from adoptees, advocates and lawmakers weighing privacy concerns for birth parents against adoptees' interest in their medical and family histories.
House Bill 47, which would allow adoptees to request original birth certificates and related records, was sent to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation after lawmakers debated privacy protections for birth parents and heard emotional testimony from adoptees and advocates.
Representative Barbara Ehart (presenting through Representative Marco Erickson in the hearing) told the committee the bill extends access for older adoptees to the same records currently available to more recent adoptees, and that the change would affect a small percentage of adoptees. "This legislation gives older adoptees the same access that current adoptees have," Ehart said.
Representative Marco Erickson, who spoke in support, described cases in which adoptees who sought records later built positive relationships with extended biological family, while also acknowledging birth parents may decline contact. Terri Markcroft, founder of Unplanned Good (a Boise nonprofit), testified in favor and said easier access can provide medical information and reduce the cost and delay involved when adoptees now hire investigators or use genetic services. Julianne Young, testifying virtually, described being separated from a son decades earlier and said the law’s change could let adoptees and birth family seek reunion or closure.
Opposition and privacy concerns focused on whether redacting a name sufficiently protects birth parents who do not want to be contacted. Representative Alfieri pressed for stronger privacy protections; he proposed a substitute motion to send the bill to general orders with changes to ensure registered birth-parent contact information would be redacted. Representatives voiced different views about whether redaction of names suffices, whether contact information appears on records, and whether the proposed five‑year re‑request cycle was adequate.
The committee first considered a motion to send the bill to general orders (substitute motion) but that motion failed. A subsequent motion to send House Bill 47 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation carried on a roll-call vote of 12 to 3.
Votes at a glance: The committee voted 12–3 to send House Bill 47 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.
Background: Sponsors and witnesses told the committee the bill attempts to strike a balance—giving adult adoptees access to birth records while allowing birth parents avenues to request redaction; details and implementation questions (for example, about whether contact information is contained in the state’s records and how the five‑year mechanism operates) drew follow-up requests and suggested potential amendments on the floor.
