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Change in Adoption Law Heads to Governor
A measure to open original birth certificates in adoption cases has won final approval in the Illinois Senate. The bill now goes to the governor. If he signs it into law, it will give birth parents the chance to deny access to the records.

The bill sponsor, State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Joliet), says state government will spend a little more than a year, from October 2010 to November 2011, sending letters to birth parents, asking if they're willing to release the original birth certificate, which includes the birth parents' names. If a parent cannot be found, or doesn't reply, the birth certificates will be released. It's that fact that led State Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) to vote no. He says the records should remain sealed unless the parent agrees to release.

Some no votes came from Republicans who worry that the loss of privacy could lead some women to obtain abortions. But Wilhelmi says that in two other states that opened records, the abortion rates went down.

(Illinois Radio Network)
04 22 10 by Newsroom
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