The Illinois Senate today passed a bill that significantly changes how adoption records are handled by the state. The House passed the bill last month, and Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign it into law.
The bill, HB5428, removes the current automatic confidentiality a birth mother receives when giving a child up for adoption. Now, that information will be readily available to adoptees unless the mother specifically requests to remain anonymous. The bill states that “it is the basic right of all persons to access their birth records, and, to this end, ]the General Assembly] supports public policy that allows an adult adoptee to access his or her original birth certificate.”
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