From Newsweek: March 15, 1999

MAIL CALL
The Tug of Love

Adoptees and birthparents alike responded emotionally to our Feb. 22 article on the Oregon initiative giving adult adoptees the right to see their birth certificates. One woman, grateful that her birthmother didn't have an abortion or try to raise a child before she finished growing up, said birthparents "shouldn't live in fear of unwanted intrusions." A birthmother who felt a right to privacy nonetheless wrote that her family history of cancer made it "a matter of medical necessity" not to reject contact. And an adoptive mother, while sympathetic to her child's need to connect with a birthparent, said the tug of that love felt like an "adulterous" betrayal.

Your article on Oregon's adoptee-rights initiative, Measure 58, misses a few points. You imply that current Oregon law makes it impossible for adoptees to search and find their birthparents unless they utilize the state's intermediary service. In fact, thousands of Oregon adoptees have successfully searched for their birthparents on their own. You further state that court orders granted to adoptees who petition the court to unseal records are "usually granted only to provide emergency medical information." In fact, Oregon law allows the court to use its discretion, and many Oregon judges rather routinely open records to all adult adoptees upon petition. Records were not sealed in Oregon to protect birthparent anonymity, and Oregon law gives adoptive parents documents with identifying information about the birthparent upon request.

Shea Grimm
Redmond, Wash.

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Your story on Measure 58 does an injustice to the vast majority of birthmothers. My son's finding me was a tremendous surprise, one I had dreamed of but wasn't prepared for. Many of us have lived in isolation for decades. Secrets fester over time, but my experience teaches me that the healing process begins with stepping out of the shadows. I have spoken to hundreds of birthmothers who, like me, have continued to care about their children regardless of circumstances of the pregnancy. And adopted people deserve the dignity of knowing who they are. It can safely be left up to the individual adults and families to work out whether they care to develop a relationship.

Lynn C. Franklin
New York, N.Y.

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