Legislation & Lobbying
Married Twins Make Case for New Adoption Law
Posted Jan 11, 2008 2:08 PM CST
By Martha Neil
A British peer has brought to the attention of his colleagues the case of two twins, separated at birth, who he says later met and married, unaware of their biological relationship.
Although the two were granted an annulment in the highly unusual case after they discovered the truth, it highlights the need for adopted children to be informed of their biological heritage, argues David Alton, a member of the House of Lords in Parliament. He is urging his colleagues not to approve the proposed Human Embryology and Tissues Bill, which in its current form does not require disclosure of the identity of those who donate sperm and eggs that are used to conceive babies that are raised by others, according to CNN.
Alton said he was told of the case of the married twins by a High Court judge, but the High Court's Family Division declined to discuss or confirm his account, according to the Associated Press. The names of the twins have not been disclosed.
"There are implications for everybody involved, but the needs of the child will always be paramount, and it is right that we should therefore make the process as transparent as possible," Alton told the Lords during a debate last month, according to an Agence France-Presse news article provided by Yahoo.
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Comments
Gaye Tannenbaum
Jan 13, 2008 10:16 AM CST
This case, while hopefully extremely rare, underscores the need for transparency and honesty in adoption and donor conception. It is EVERY person’s right to know whose genes they carry, the circumstances of their birth and how they came to be a part of their legal family.
The recently released Donaldson report put to rest the sensationalist claims of the NCFA lobbyists that “abortion rates will skyrocket” if the millions of adults, who were adopted as children, had a right to receive their OWN original birth certificates. Adult adoptees are not asking for a NEW right - we are asking for the restoration of a right that non-adopted persons can take for granted.
The sealed records statutes were written to assure the adoptive parents that they were protected from any feared interference by the child’s birthparents. In earlier years, the argument was to protect the child from the stigma of illegitimacy.
While I believe that parties have a right to privacy from the general public in that a document of birth (date and place) and legal parentage should be available for all the reasons that a birth certificate is currently being used, a TRUE birth certificate, showing the person’s biological origins, must be made available to the adoptive parents and/or the adopted person once they reach majority.
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