Adoption

To know or not to know...that is the question. As an adoptee I take particular interest in this article and the legislation it represents (granted my "home" state is not involved just yet...but better to be well-educated in the goings and comings than caught off guard one day...) On one hand, it would be awesome to know my medical history and, just for fun, the exact time of my birth. On the other hand, I respect the privacy of my birth mother/parents. I believe they did the "right" thing in choosing to give me up for adoption. If making their records "public" would in any way hinder a person's decision to give a child up for adoption, I'd say stop pushing for this information to be opened to the public. I mean, how ungrateful are you to not respect the privacy of those who gave you life? They didn't have to go through with their pregnancy but they did. They chose the best for their child and shouldn't they deserve some gratitude? When I turned 18, like most adoptees, I thought about doing "the search", but, obviously, I stopped. Too many horror stories about the reuniting of birth parents and children, too many questions, too many people to which I would have to explain my decision, too many whys...was it really worth it to dig up the past and potentially hurt someone in the present all to say, "Thank you" because really, that's all I want. To say, "thank you."

"Thank you for choosing to love me by giving me a chance. Thank you for not taking the easy road, but rather taking the road less traveled. Thank you for not trying to raise me yourself when you knew you were not up to the task. Thank you for offering me the chance at a better life. If only there were more like you in the world realizing the best thing they can do is to allow someone else to take the reigns. Thank you, thank you, thank you."