The following excerpt is from an article posted August 15, 2016 at stltoday.com.
For many years, adults adopted as children who wanted to find out who their birth parents were ran up against a brick wall because they had no legal right to simply get a copy of their original birth certificate in most states.
But that’s been changing, as a growing number of states, including Missouri, have been giving adult adoptees more — and in some cases, unrestricted — access to those records.
The shift reflects a move toward more openness in the adoption process itself, as well as the growing influence of adoptee rights groups, which have grown in number and become more vocal, putting pressure on legislators to act.
