Adoption

& Measure 58 In Orego Essay, Research Paper

Adoption & Measure 58 in Oregon

Oregon adoptees won a nineteen month court battle to see their birth certificates, which have been sealed since 1957. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner refused to continue a hold on Measure 58, an adoption rights law approved by voters in Oregon in 1998.

Six birth mothers had filed law suits to prevent this. The new las is retroactive and they feared they would be open to contact from children they had given up for adoption so many years ago. That ist would upset their current lives ans their families didn’t know about them giving up a child for adoption. The birth mothers argued that Measure 58 violated their constitutional right to privacy.

This change is a good thing. Now oregonions have recognized that adoption should not be hidden in shame, and everyone has the right to know who their parents are. That is is a good thing to pur a child up for adoption so they can have a good home that the real parents couldn’t give them.

Adoption experts estimate there are about 79,000 adoptees in Oregon. The State office for Services to Children handled about 2,200 last year and estimates the new law will affect about 25,000 Oregonions. So far only 16 Oregon mothers have attached forms to their children’s birth certificates saying they do not want contact.

If adoptive parents, birth parents, siblings and friends are considered, there is probably not a life in oregon that is not touched by adoption.

It will not be an easy road for adoptees, even with Measure58. A birth mother’s real name does not always appear on the certtificate, so it’s hard to locate a birth parent.

It isn’t just to cause trouble that adoptees want to know, they may have health problems, and want a medical history. Their are many reasons and I think it’s a good thing.