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Witness says missing birth certificate left Abigail unable to get a driver’s license, work or regular medical care
Summary
A witness described how parents’ refusal to record births left a woman known as Abigail without a birth certificate or Social Security number, preventing her from obtaining a driver’s license, employment, bank accounts, housing, certain licenses and most non-emergency medical care.
A witness recounted that Abigail’s parents intentionally did not record her birth or the births of three siblings because of their religious and political beliefs, and that the family asked a midwife not to create birth records or obtain Social Security numbers for the children.
“That impacts pretty much every aspect of her life, large and small,” the witness said, listing concrete effects: “She’s not able to get a driver’s license. She’s not able to get a job. She’s not able to open a bank account, purchase a home, rent a home. She can't get a hunting license. She can't sell games to a video game store. She can't get controlled medications. She really can't get medical care outside of emergency services because she can't get insurance.”
A questioner asked for examples of how the lack of documents has hindered Abigail, prompting the witness’s list of lost opportunities and blocked services. The witness also said three siblings were similarly undocumented because the parents requested no official record from the midwife.
The transcript records these personal consequences but does not include any reference to a formal appeal, legal filing or next procedural step in this excerpt. No statutes, policies or agency actions were cited in the provided remarks.
