Adoptees should have access to birth records
My name is Victoria. I was born in New Jersey, was raised in New Jersey, and reside in New Jersey. I have lived here my whole life of 37 1/2 years and am proud to call myself a "Jersey girl." I am writing to you because I am an adoptee and a proponent of the NJ S611 bill.

I am truly saddened that New Jersey's adoptees are unable to access their records. In a day when we have made so much progress for so many good causes, such as a civil union for gay couples and overturning the death penalty, we have lacked the same perseverance for adoptees.

I want everyone to understand how I as an adoptee have felt my entire life. Have you ever wondered if the person you were dating was somehow related to you? Have you ever wondered if the store clerk helping you was possibly your birth mother? Have you ever wondered if your classmate was your sibling? Have you ever wondered if you had a genetic disease in your family history which was unknown?

I have led a full and rewarding life. My life was not empty. I was raised in a loving environment with two parents who taught me values and respect. I never for one day was treated as if I was an adopted child and was treated as if I was their own.

I am not looking for answers because I am in need of anything; I am looking for answers because I feel it is my right. I did not choose to be an adoptee. I did not choose to give up my family's background or medical history. Why is it that I feel I have fewer rights than a person in prison?

Recently, I decided to search for my birth family. After years of battling numerous health issues and becoming a mother, I decided for my daughter's best interest I should at least find out my medical history. I contacted the adoption agency I was adopted from in 1970. I was told that I would need to pay them $825 for my non-identifying information and search that could possibly end in nothing. While the money is not an issue for me, the principle is. I felt as if I was being extorted. I felt I had to pay for something that everyone else had for free. I do not feel that the agency is the only one to blame. I feel that the state has given them the ability and power to act like this. I thought of all those people who struggle from paycheck to paycheck, wondering, Are they not entitled to get their information just because they don't have the money?

I hope that in reading this, you understand the great need the adoptees are in by not having their records.

Victoria Costa Berkeley Heights