New York News

Adoptees Can Access Birth Certificates Under New NY Law

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published January 15, 2020 at 3:40 PM EST

New York has become the 10th state to allow adopted adults unrestricted access to their original birth certificate, a step that will help some investigate their family histories.

A new law effective Wednesday does away with restrictions dating back to the 1930s that required adoptees to seek a hard-to-get court order to access their original birth records. Those rules had originally been intended to protect the privacy of parents who relinquished their children. But attitudes have shifted about the rights of adopted individuals, and social media and DNA technology have made it easier for long-separated relatives to connect.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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