Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman has unveiled a proposed law which will allow adopted people to access the full details of their birth certs and other childhood and medical information for the first time. But what is in the legislation, how will it work and what are the concerns of campaigners?
What is in the Bill?
Under the proposed Birth Information and Tracing Bill, adopted people will have the right to access their full and unredacted birth certificate, baptismal certificates, information about their early childhood and medical information. A free tracing service will be set up to help people to find their family members in cases where both the adopted person and the parent have expressed a willingness to make contact.
Mr O’Gorman said the new tracing service could be used not just by an adopted person or someone boarded out or illegally registered, but also by parents and other next of kin. For instance, the child of an adopted person who is deceased will be able to seek information on their parent’s origin.
When will all this be in place?
Once the law is enacted, there will be a three-month period where the new rights will be advertised and adopted people and their mothers will be encouraged to express a preference on whether or not they want contact. The public awareness campaign will include advertising in the UK, the United States and Australia. Mr O'Gorman believes it will be up and running this year.
What if a parent does not wish to be contacted?
If the mother of an adopted person expresses a wish not to be contacted, the individual seeking their birth cert will have to participate in an information session which can take place by video or phone call or in person if they wish.
Does the dropping of the in-person meeting requirement satisfy campaigners?
In a word, no. Adoption Rights Alliance co-founder Claire McGettrick highlighted how one reason for the information session cited in the Bill is to inform an adopted person of the importance of the privacy rights of the parent. She said this is "offensive" to adopted people, who don't need to have the concept of privacy explained to them.
What did the Minister say about the information session?
He said he is conscious some adopted people have expressed concern over the information session, which he called the Bill's "balancing mechanism". He said the Bill had dispensed with "the kind of onerous conditions that were included in previous attempts to legislate – things such as criminal penalties and statutory declarations [that a person will not seek to contact a parent]." He also said the requirement for an in-person meeting is gone. However, he said there is a clear requirement for the legislation to provide due consideration for the rights of adopted people and parents.
Is there any sanction in the legislation should there be an attempt to contact a person against their will?
There are no criminal penalties in the Bill. Mr O'Gorman said there is no provision in the legislation in circumstances where an adopted person turned up at the home of a parent who did not want to be contacted. He said there is existing legislation relating to harassment if that was required. But he also said "adopted people know the difficulties that surround decisions that a mother has made to give their child up for adoption" and stressed his belief that they will accept a parent's no-contact preference.
