WINNIPEG – Adopted children and birth parents will get more access to Manitoba pre-adoption records starting June 15.
Amendments to the Adoption Act will allow adoptees aged 18 or older access to pre-adoption birth registration information and birth parents of adult adoptees access to their post-adoption, substituted registration of birth. Under the previous Manitoba law, only adoptees born after records were partially opened in 1999 can access their pre-adoption information.
“The changes can finally give adoptees a sense of closure on an unknown chapter in their life, a sense of finally belonging,” said Roy Kading of LINKS, which offers support to adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents.
READ MORE: Manitoba poised to further open adoption records
“Birth parents will have the opportunity to find out what happened to the child they gave up. Did they have a good life? Have they been well and what are they doing in life?” Kading said in a news release from the province.
Both adoptees and birth parents will be able to veto disclosure of their information if desired. People who don’t want their information released can file a disclosure veto, which prohibits the release of identifying information. Vetoes filed in the past will remain in effect.
People affected by the legislation can also file a contact preference stating what type of contact, if any, they want with an adoptee or birth parent.
For more information, visit Manitoba’s Family Services page on adoption.
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