The Adoptee Rights Coalition is an adoptee-led organization of adult adoptees, original families, and adoptive families that supports legislation that will give all adopted adults unconditional restored access to their own original birth certificates.

The archaic laws that seal the original birth certificates of adopted people are the legacy of a culture of shame that stigmatized infertility, out-of-wedlock birth, and adoption. These laws send a negative message about being adopted. We protest to change these laws and challenge that message. 

Adult adoptees in most of the advanced, industrialized nations of the world have unrestricted access to their original birth records as a matter of right. In contrast, adult adoptees in all but six states in the U.S. are forbidden unrestricted access to their own original birth certificates, due to archaic laws that are a legacy of a culture of shame that stigmatized infertility, out-of-wedlock birth, and adoption.

We united for the purpose of educating legislators, the adoption community, and the public about Adoptee Rights.  We plan the famous Adoptee Rights Demonstration each year and work directly with legislators and groups within individual States to support their work on this important issue.