Support Rhode Island HB 5453 UPDATED

http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/billtext11/housetext11/h5453.pdf

But even if the full House approves the bill — as it has, unanimously, for the last two years — the chances of the bill making it to the full Senate for a vote remain uncertain.

Nearly identical bills introduced in 2009 and 2010 won unanimous approval in the House, but failed to get voted out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

In Rhode Island, the original birth certificates of people who were adopted in the state remain sealed. Adults who were adopted as children have access only to the new birth certificate issued by the state to their adoptive parents.”

SICK: “Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence, chairwoman of Senate Health and Human Services Committee and one of the bill’s perennial sponsors, conceded in April that she has found it “extremely difficult” to get what she called a “clean adoption-access bill” passed because several unnamed senators have opposed it for “personal family” reasons. “

More politicians trying to hide their past actions to the detriment of those who deserve access.
R.I. House Judiciary OKs bill allowing adopted children to see original birth certificates
[The Providence Journal 6/8/11 by Lynn Arditi]

Update 2: The Senate on Wednesday “unanimously approved a bill to unseal Rhode Island’s birth records for adult adoptees who are 25 or older. ”

“The bill is a more expansive version of the one last week that cleared the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which Perry chairs. The measure included a floor amendment introduced by Perry that lowered the age at which adult adoptees could obtain their birth records from 30 to 25.

Members of two local groups that fought to unseal the records — the Rhode Island Coalition for Adoptee Rights and Equality (RICARE) and ACCESS RI, an open records group –– had testified that any adoptee who was 18 or older should be able to obtain their original birth certificate. And several members of the Senate committee agreed.

But Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin, D-Providence, had said that she felt that 18 was too young, a sentiment that Perry has said was expressed privately by others as well.

“I think it’s a great compromise,” Goodwin said after the vote. “I hope all parties are happy.”
Before casting their votes Wednesday, one senator after another stood to voice their support for the rights of adult adoptees — some sharing personal stories and revelations. ”

Adoptees gain Senate victory
[The Providence Journal 6/23/11 by Lynn Arditi]

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