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Adoptees and advocates urge Assembly committee to approve bill restoring access to original birth certificates
Summary
SB 381 would authorize adult California‑born adoptees (and descendants of deceased adoptees) to request original birth certificates; supporters said it restores dignity and improves health information access, and the committee heard extensive public-comment testimony in favor.
Sen. Wahab presented SB 381 as a historic bill to allow adult adoptees born in California to access their original birth certificates and to attach a nonbinding contact preference form for birth parents. Supporters said the change would correct a long history of secrecy and help adoptees access health and family history information.
"It is a human right, a matter of dignity, to have access to one's original birth certificate," Wendy Turk of the California Alliance for Adoptee Rights told the committee. Dozens of adoptees and family members lined up at the microphone to state their name, affiliation where applicable, and their support for the bill.
Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist at UCSF, presented research showing most private domestic adoptions are now open and that privacy claims on behalf of relinquishing parents often do not reflect their later preferences. "Opening records through SB 381 will only move California further from the history of adoption shrouded in secrecy," she said.
Committee members praised the testimony and noted the widespread public interest; the bill was presented and public comment was extensive. The author and witnesses said the measure includes steps to protect birth parents’ contact preferences while restoring adoptees’ access to identity and medical history.
