Sealed birth records, as opposed to open records, refers to the practice of sealing the original birth certificate of an infant upon adoption. The original sealed birth certificate is replaced with a birth certificate declaring the adoptee to be the child of his or her adoptive parents. Many states, provinces and countries adopted this practice in the early to mid 20th century with the aim of protecting the adopted person from the shame of his or her illegitimate birth. Sealed or closed birth records are generally associated with closed adoption. Open records is generally referred to as the practice of opening original birth records to adult adoptees, and should not be confused with open adoption, which can occur with or without sealed records, depending on the laws of the state or province in which it is carried out.
Many nations have granted adult adoptees unfettered access to their original birth certificates. Mike Leigh's Oscar-nominated film Secrets & Lies (1996) revolves around a British woman who accesses her original birth certificate.
Read more about Sealed Birth Records: See Also
Famous quotes containing the words sealed, birth and/or records:
“These things are not inscribed in tablets, not sealed in the folds of papyri, but you hear them clearly from the tongue in a free mouth.”
—Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)
“It must appear impossible, that theism could, from reasoning, have been the primary religion of human race, and have afterwards, by its corruption, given birth to polytheism and to all the various superstitions of the heathen world. Reason, when obvious, prevents these corruptions: When abstruse, it keeps the principles entirely from the knowledge of the vulgar, who are alone liable to corrupt any principle or opinion.
”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)