Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition

Organizations and advocates supporting equal rights for all adopted people in Michigan

Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition

House Passage!

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The Michigan House of Representatives passed HB5148/HB5149 on November 9, 2023, by a vote of 99-8-3. Our hard work is paying off, and all eyes are now on the Michigan Senate, where the bills will be considered next.

In resounding victory for adoptee rights, the Michigan House of Representatives overwhelming passed our equal rights bill package, with minimal opposition. The bills have now been transmitted to the Senate, where they are assigned to the Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee.

Michigan House of Representatives vote on HB5148, approved by a 99-8 vote. The bill moves on to the Senate.

The vote came just before the House adjourned for the year. The Senate also adjourned shortly afterward, and the legislature will convene again in January 2024 (the exact date is not yet available). That means we are working now to build the same overwhelming support in the Senate.

What Can I Do Right Now?

Our best advice? Hang tight. Legislators are on a much needed break (as we are too). It’s generally ineffective to lobby legislators publicly between now and January, but we will be reaching out to key members and leaders of the Senate to to get eyes on our bills. That work will be during December and early January. We will reach out to you and our supporters over the next few weeks to provide any updates, though we expect that little will happen publicly during this interim time. If you have not already signed up for email updates (and, importantly, told us your Michigan representatives), you can do so here.

Michigan, We Have Liftoff

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Michigan legislators have introduced a bi-partisan legislative package that does one thing: restores the birth record rights of all Michigan-born adopted people. The hard work of enacting the bills is now in play.

HB5148: Deborah’s Law

HB5148, carried by Rep. Kristian Grant (D) amends Michigan vital records law so that all Michigan-born adult adopted persons and their descendants may request and obtain a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record. The requests will be made and fulfilled directly through the state registrar, without the need to involve the court or Michigan’s notoriously slow and ineffective Central Adoption Registry (CAR). The bill is called “Deborah’s Law” in honor of Rep. Grant’s mother, who is a Michigan-born adoptee. It has been referred to the Family, Children and Seniors Committee.

HB5149

HB5149, carried by Rep. Pat Outman (R) severs the the state’s Central Adoption Registry from controlling the release of pre-adoption birth records, while at the same time repealing the differential treatment of adoptees based on the date that parental rights had been terminated. While HB5149 has been referred initially to the Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee, it is believed it will be re-reffered to the correct committee, which is Children, Family and Seniors.

The bill package reflects a long grassroots process to assure bipartisan support for an unrestricted equal rights bill. It also reflects the patient leadership and commitment of Rep. Grant and Rep. Outman.

To keep up to date or to get involved in the effort sign up here.

Resources and Information

FAQ: Michigan’s Adoptee Rights Bills

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Michigan legislators have introduced two bills that, if enacted, would restore the right of all Michigan-born adopted people to request and obtain their own original birth certificates (OBC), without discriminatory restrictions or conditions. Here’s what to know about those bills.

What are the bills and bill numbers?

There are two bills. HB5148 relates to vital records and, if enacted, will be known as “Deborah’s Law,” named after Rep. Kristian Grant’s mother, who is a Michigan-born adoptee.

HB5149 relates to the Michigan probate code, which deals with adoption law, courts, and the Central Adoption Registry.

What do these bills do?

Basically, the bills do two things:

  1. HB5148 amends Michigan vital records law so that all adult adopted persons and their descendants may request and obtain a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record. No restrictions control the request other than 1) the requestor must be an adult who is at least 18 years of age; 2) the requestor must be an adoptee or the descendant or personal representative of an adoptee; and 3) the proper vital records fee is paid. While the bill also creates a contact preference form available for birthparents to file, it is an optional form that does not control or affect the release of adopted person’s birth record.
  2. HB5149 eliminates court and Central Adoption Registry control over the release of an adopted person’s own vital record. In doing so it also eliminates Michigan’s notorious “donut hole” restriction that differentiates the rights of adopted people based on the date the court terminated their birthparent’s rights. While the bill retains birthparent denial requests for release of identifying information (not birth records), those denials cannot be filed after July 1, 2024. Further any denials already on file do “not restrict an individual from obtaining an unredacted copy of an original certificate of live birth . . . .”

Is this a bi-partisan effort?

Yes. Each bill has either a Democrat (Rep. Kristian Grant) or a Republican (Rep. Pat Outman) as primary sponsors.

These are “tie-bar” bills. What is a “tie-bar” bill?

Michigan allows introduction of two “tie-bar” bills. Tie-bar bills are connected and neither bill will be enacted if only one bill passes the legislature. The bills are “tied” together. For example, the bill language for HB5148 specifically states “This amendatory act does not take effect unless . . . House Bill No. 5149 (request no. 03439’23) of the 102nd Legislature is enacted into law.”

I heard that vital records may have trouble matching the amended birth record to the original birth record. Does this bill address that issue?

Yes. When vital records encounters an issue in matching the amended record information with the original birth record information, the department can request information from the courts to secure that match. The courts must respond to that request within 14 days. The relevant provision in HB5149 states:

Within 14 days after a request from the department of health and human services, the court that entered the order of adoption must provide the information necessary for the department of health and human services to locate and identify the original certificate of live birth of the adopted individual.

What is the contact preference form in the bill? and how does that affect the release of the original birth certificate?

A genuine contact preference form allows a birthparent listed on the original birth record to express a preference for any contact with the adopted person or the adopted person’s descendants. The forms typically have three choices, and none of the choices will impact the release of the original birth record. Those three choices in the bill include a wish for no contact, for direct contact, or contact through an intermediary.

Does the contact preference form affect the release of the original birth certificate?

No. The contact preference form does not affect the release of the OBC. It is considered advisory only and simply allows a birthparent to express a preference for contact. A completed and filed contact preference form does not prevent the release of the adopted person’s OBC in any way.

Will any information on the original birth record be changed or removed?

No. The bills do not allow for changing or removing (redacting) information on the original birth record.

Who else can apply for the OBC other than the adopted person?

A descendant or legal representative of the adopted person may also apply for a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record.

What are the next steps for these bills?

The bills passed the House 99-8 in November 2023 and are now in the senate, where they were heard by the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety. The committee has not yet voted on whether to report the bill out for consideration by the full senate.

Who is in the Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition?

The three core partners of MARC are Adoptee Advocates of Michigan; Michigan Adoptee Collaborative; and the Adoptee Rights Law Center. You can read more about each one here.

Where can I read the text of the bills?

You can find the bills listed on the Michigan legislature bill page:

We also have a more thorough overview of each bill here.

Will you be updating this FAQ when necessary?

Of course. This FAQ will be updated as things develop or change. It was last updated on March 2, 2024.

HB5148 and HB5149: An Overview

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Michigan House Bills 5148 and 5149, introduced on October 17, are tie-bar bills that repeal and simplify Michigan’s overly complex and inequitable system that currently restricts adult adopted persons from requesting and obtaining their own vital records. The two bills together reflect current reality, where social media, genetics, genealogical records, and societal norms have rendered human secrecy impossible, impractical, and specifically discriminatory against adopted people.

Here’s what each bill does.

HB5148: Vital Records

  • HB5148 amends Michigan vital records law so that all adult adopted persons and their descendants may request and obtain a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record. Such requests are made and fulfilled directly through the state registrar, without the need to involve additional state agencies or the court.
  • Provides birthparents the option to file contact preference forms that inform adult adopted persons of the birth parents’ wishes concerning contact, whether contact directly,  through an intermediary, or a preference for no contact. Birthparents may revise their preferences for contact at any time by filing a new contact preference form with the Department of Health. The contact preference form, if filed, accompanies any copy of the original certificate of live birth provided to the adult adopted person or the adult adopted person’s descendant.
  • Provides a notice along with the copy of the original birth record informing the requestor of the existence of the central adoption registry and the potential availability of identifying information through use of the registry.
  • Allows adult heirs and legal representatives of the adopted person to request a copy of the original birth record on behalf of the adoptee if the adoptee is deceased. 

HB5149: Identifying Information and the Central Adoption Registry

  • Consistent with similar state laws across the country, HB5149 separates the operation of the state’s Central Adoption Registry, which facilitates sharing of contact and identifying information between birth family members, from the vital records office’s core function to provide birth and other vital records to qualified requestors and registrants. 
  • Makes release of identifying information through the Central Adoption Registry equal for all adult adoptees, no matter the date their birthparents terminated parental rights. This eliminates a current “donut hole” in the law that discriminates against adult adoptees whose birthparents’ parental rights were terminated on or after May 28, 1945, and before September 12, 1980. 
  • Concentrates on the core function of the Central Adoption Registry. CAR facilitates release of contact and reunion-related identifying information, specifically the most recent address of birthparents. Such identifying information, known as “contact information,” is provided only if it is available and it is not subject to a previously filed denial of release. It is not the same information that appears on an original birth record.
  • Preserves current denials of release for any denials filed prior to July 1, 2024. A denial of release, however, will not interfere with the adult adopted person’s ability to request and obtain a copy of their own original certificate of live birth through the separate vital records bill.
  • Requires courts, if necessary, to respond within 14 days to requests from the vital records office to assist in matching amended birth records with original birth records.
  • Makes adoption records public 100 years after the adopted person’s date of birth.
  • Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to make reasonable efforts to notify members of the public who may be affected by changes in the law, not only governing the release of identifying and non-identifying information but also an adoptee’s ability to request and obtain a copy of their own original certificate of live birth.

More Information and Resources

Right Now in Michigan: An Update

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Significant progress is being made to introduce a bill that will get rid of the state’s “donut hole” and restore the right of all Michigan-born adopted people to request and obtain their own original birth records, without discriminatory restrictions. Here’s where things stand right now— and what advocates should know as we move forward.

An Equal Rights Bill Is in Process

While HB4529 is already active in the Michigan legislature, it is not acceptable. We have, however, been working hard to introduce a genuine equal rights bill package that does one important thing: provides a copy of the original birth certificate to a Michigan-born adult adopted person upon request. In its current format, the package are two bills which are “tie-barred,” meaning each bill must be passed in order for both to be enacted. One tie-bar bill requires the vital records office to release the original birth certificate to an adult adopted person (and their descendants) while the second tie-bar bill removes the Central Adoption Registry from the process involving release of the original birth certificate. A coalition memo describing in general what the bills do is here, though parts of the bills may change after further input from the Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the agency tasked with implementing any enacted birth record bills (see next section).

Next Steps: Where We Are Today

In the last week we received feedback from the MDHHS on the tie-bar bill package. The feedback has been constructive, and a majority of the suggested changes will not alter the bill. That is, even as the legislative drafting office addresses those changes, the bill package will remain an unrestricted equal rights package. One issue, however, needs more discussion to resolve. That issue relates to how easy or hard it is for the vital records office to match amended birth records with original birth records. This issue relates primarily to older amended birth records allegedly created by the courts, though the specific dates affected by this issue is not yet fully determined. The meeting to discuss this issue with the vital records office is now being scheduled. We are working as expeditiously as we can to come to an agreement on a equal rights bill that will meet the demands of all Michigan-born adult adoptees.

What You Can Do Right Now

Honestly, for the next 3-4 weeks there may not be a lot to do with direct advocacy and legislators. Legislators generally react to—and are controlled by—existing legislation. With an active bill at least a few weeks away, it only confuses legislators to talk about a bill that is not even available to review. Worse, it could activate opposition to the concept of an unrestricted equal rights bill and allow opposition to build more easily, even before a bill is introduced.

So our advice right now is to chill, but do one thing: if you are a Michigan resident let us know who represents you. And if you are a Michigan-born adoptee who lives in another state, let us know you are out there. This is the most important task for supporters right now.

LET US KNOW WHO REPRESENTS YOU

One Fundamental Difference Between DNA and an Adoptee’s Right to Identity

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Many legislators fail to realize today that continued state secrecy over a person’s own birth record often has one fundamental impact: it leads to far more public disclosure of the person’s birth and often does so within generations of a family, typically as a result of using inexpensive consumer DNA tests. Two illustrations demonstrate how this occurs.

1. When Michigan-Born Adult Adopted People Have the Right to Request and Obtain their Own Birth Records

Enacting a law in Michigan to restore the right to your own birth record will not lead to widespread disclosure of the facts about that birth. It instead makes the disclosure discreet and private because it provides the record to a single person: the registrant; i.e., the adopted person whose birth is recorded on the certificate. Here’s how such a law would work, using what’s known as a contact preference form:

2. When Michigan Denies Adoptees Their Own Birth Records – and Compels DNA Testing Instead

When a state doubles down on keeping a person’s own birth record a secret, it compels adopted people to use a number of alternative methods to secure information about their own identities. Those efforts could include hiring a private investigator, contacting and using a search angel, or submitting a relatively inexpensive DNA test. All of these methods ultimately lead to widespread and far more public disclosure of information. DNA, however, is not only is the easiest and least expensive of these methods but it also often leads to disclosure of the adoption to numerous biological relatives, including first cousins, aunts, uncles, and even siblings. When Michigan incentivizes DNA testing by locking down adoptee birth records, the result is the complete evisceration of privacy for everyone involved, particularly birthparents:

The coalition is now working on a bill that will restore a right all Michigan-born adopted people once had: the right to request and obtain your own birth record, without discriminatory denials and restrictions. Expect more information about that bill in the early Fall.

Additional Resources