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Adopted Lawmaker Wants His Birth Certificate

A South Florida lawmaker wants to make it easier for fellow adoptees to get copies of their birth records.

Democratic Representative Richard Stark of Weston is sponsoring a bill that would force the state to give adult adoptees non-certified copies of their birth certificates within 45 days of receiving the request.

Stark says it’s not fair to deny adults access to their biological history.

“Why don’t I have the same civil rights as everybody else? If I want to get a copy of my birth certificate, I can’t get it. I’m over the age of 18.”

Critics worry fewer mothers will be willing to put their children up for adoption without a privacy guarantee.

Adoptees counter that advances in gene therapy make access to birth records more important than ever.

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.