Adopted Adults Hoping to Win Access to NJ Records

Adopted adults in New Jersey may soon gain access to their original birth certificates.

The Assembly's Human Services Committee will consider the legislation Monday and may vote on it. If it passes, the measure would go to the full Assembly.

Eight states already have similar laws, and the New Jersey senate passed the measure in March.

If it eventually becomes law, parents who surrendered their children for adoption in the state would have one year from its passage to shield their identities. After that, an adopted adult or adoptive parent would be able to request a copy of the adoptee's birth certificate.

Opponents have fought the legislation for many years, claiming it violates the privacy birth mothers expected when they gave up their children.