Work with us for change in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Capitol Coalition for Adoptee Rights

Equality for all adult adoptees from the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland

Equality for All Adopted People

We are a coalition of organizations and allies in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, working to secure equal rights for all adult adopted people who were born or adopted in the region.

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What We’re About

We are a powerful regional coalition working to change discriminatory laws in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Those laws deny adult adoptees a right to request and obtain their own vital records.

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Updates on Virginia HB1969

In Committee. Virginia HB1969 has been introduced and is currently assigned to Subcommittee #3 of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.

D.C.

Adult adoptees in the District of Columbia do not have have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates, except by court order. District of Columbia courts control all aspects of releasing an OBC or any identifying information, whether from court records or from vital records.

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Maryland

Maryland denies adult adoptees an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Adult adoptees whose adoptions were finalized on or after January 1, 2000, may request their original birth certificates, subject to a birthparent’s veto over release. All other adoptees are required to obtain a court order.

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Virginia

Adult adoptees from Virginia do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates (OBC). Release of an OBC requires either a) a state agency’s decision—upon good cause shown—to release identifying information from the adoption records; or b) a court order upon good cause shown.

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What We Must Do Now

Virginia HB1969 has been voted out of committee and may come before the full House of Delegates for a final vote as early as Monday, February 6. We have one task and one ask right now: contact delegates to request a YES vote on HB1969.

HB1969 Moves to a House Vote

Virginia HB1969 moved out of committee favorably, on a vote of 19-1. It now goes to the House floor calendar for consideration.

HB1969 Before Full House Committee

Virginia HB1969 will be considered tomorrow in the full House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. If it is reported out favorably, it will move toward scheduling and vote in the full House.

A Virginia Bill is Filed

HB1969, with one easy fix, would restore a right that all Virginia-born adopted people once had: a right to request and obtain your own original birth certificate.

We Did All That We Could

The email that went out to all supporters of the Capitol Coalition for Adoptee Rights on March 30, 2021.