Primary Features of Proposed

2008 Original Birth Certificate Access Bill

1. Establishes a simple, fee-free procedure by which adult adopted persons over the age of 21 who were born in Illinois can request non-certified copies of their original birth certificates.
2. Provides Illinois adoptees born prior to January 1, 1946, with unrestricted access to their original birth certificates, effective upon enactment of the bill.
3. Allows Illinois adoptees born between January 1, 1946, and January 1, 2009, to access copies of their original birth certificates beginning January 1, 2010, except in cases where a birth parent named on the original birth certificate has filed a “Denial of Information Exchange” with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) prior to 12/31/2009 or made a written request for anonymity to the agency that handled the adoption.
4. Provides for access to the original birth certificate for all Illinois adoptees born after January 1, 2010, except in cases where a birth parent has successfully obtained a court-ordered information veto (see #5).
5. Creates a procedure whereby, beginning January 1, 2010, a birth parent who wishes to remain anonymous to an adult adopted person must demonstrate to an Illinois court that there are “exceptional circumstances” which warrant the non-disclosure of his or her identity to the adult adoptee and obtain a court order prohibiting the release of his or her identity on the original birth certificate.
6. Offers an adopted person whose birth parent has requested anonymity the option of receiving a copy of his or her original birth certificate from which all identifying information pertaining to the birth parent seeking anonymity has been deleted.
7. Allows an adopted person whose birth parent has requested anonymity to petition the court for the appointment of a confidential intermediary for the purposes of confirming the birth parent’s desire to remain anonymous and obtaining updated medical information. 
8. Gives all birth family members who qualify for the IARMIE (i.e. adult children and siblings of deceased birth parents as well as birth mothers and birth fathers)  the option of filing a contact preference form with the IARMIE; contact preference forms on file with the IARMIE will be released to all adult adopted persons requesting a copy of their original birth record. 
9. Offers birth parents of adopted persons who were born between January 1, 1946, and January 1, 2009, with a year-long window after the enactment of the proposed law to file a “Denial of Information Exchange” or a contact preference form with the IARMIE.
10. Mandates a year-long informational campaign to inform birth relatives and adult adopted persons of the provisions of the new law.