History of Georgia Adoptee Rights

1941 – 1961

The ability for an adult adoptee to obtain their original birth certificate (OBC) in Georgia was permitted until 1961. In 1941, all adoptees’ records, became sealed and held in the state’s ownership, but the original birth certificate was still available upon demand of the adopted person. Since 1961, the only way for an adult adoptee to possibly receive their OBC is to petition the court. This is a very expensive and time-intensive endeavor and not all petitions are granted. The decision lies in the hands of the judge in the county in which the adoption took place.

2001-2004

Efforts by EAGLE for Georgians made several attempts to get an unrestricted OBC bill passed. In the 2001/2002 session, HB1127 died in the Rules Committee and never made it to the House for a vote. Then, SB192 in the 2003/2004 session passed in the Senate, but it was then removed on the House floor by amendment. The major opposition at the time was the National Council for Adoption (NCFA).

2011-2012

A new adoptee rights group was formed this year: Georgians for Equal Access to Records (GEAR). During the 2011/2012, HB748 was met with minimal opposition and moved out of the House Judiciary Committee to the Rules Committee for a vote. Unfortunately, it died in the Rules Committee and didn’t make it to the House floor.  

2013-2014

GEAR continued their efforts for the 2013/2014 session and introduced the same adoptee equal rights bill. This time, HB524 was referred to the Juvenile Justice Committee and was met with opposition. In hopes of a clean compromise, GEAR added a non-binding contact preference form, which would still allow the adult adoptee to obtain an unaltered copy of their OBC. Unfortunately, the Welch Subcommittee asked for further amendments. The substitute involved discriminatory measures and passed out of the Subcommittee and Juvenile Justice Committee. As the discriminatory measures were not acceptable to GEAR, they pulled the bill from making it to the House floor for a vote. 

2020-2021

In 2020, several Georgia adoptees connected online and were concerned that adult adoptees still didn’t have access to their own original birth certificate in the 21^st century! Hence, Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights was formed. Through 2021, many others joined forces. This talented and energetic group is comprised of birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents from different highly successful careers and backgrounds. The committee’s dedication to equal rights for adoptees is strong and their commitment will continue in Georgia until adult adoptees have the right to obtain their original birth certificate. Period.

2023-2024

In January 2023, which was the start of the first year of the 2-year legislative cycle in Georgia, we worked with the bill author, Jim Outman, and bill sponsor, Senator Randy Robertson to file a clean bill that would restore the right for all Georgia born adoptees to obtain their own original birth certificate upon request. Once the bill was filed, SB64 was read and referred to the Children and Families Committee. The Committee voted unanimously in favor and gave it a “Do Pass” out of the Committee. SB64 then moved to the Rules Committee where it waited to be moved to the floor calendar for a full vote on the Senate floor. On crossover day, March 6th, the bill unanimously passed out of the Senate with a 54-0 vote with no opposition! Making its way to the House, where it was sponsored by Representative Beth Camp, SB64 was referred to the Judicial Committee where it was given a “Do Pass” unanimously. Next stop was the House Rules Committee where it was scheduled for a House floor vote. Unfortunately, the bill was never brought up for a vote by House Speaker Jon Burns. This meant that we had to wait until the second year of the 2-year legislative session in January 2024 to pick the bill back up. After crossover day, SB64 started back through the House Judiciary Committee and Reeves Subcommittee where it passed out again unanimously and then moved to the Rules Committee to wait to be moved to the floor calendar for a vote. Disappointingly, it did not get moved to the House floor calendar for a full vote before the last day for the session. This meant that SB64 died in Rules Committee.