Birth certificate bill passes La. Senate

BATON ROUGE, La. (KALB) - A bill that aims to provide access to an adopted person’s original birth certificate received final passage through the Louisiana Senate on Friday, June 3.

Under current Louisiana law, once a child is adopted within the state, that child’s original birth certificate becomes sealed, meaning the child’s birth mother and father are not disclosed. This has been the case since the law went into effect in 1977.

Louisiana requires an adult adopted person, if they want to unseal that record, to go through a legal process to show compelling reasons why they should be allowed access to their original birth corticate.

House Bill 450 by Representative Chuck Owen provides for the unsealing of an adoptee’s original birth certificate once they reach 24 years old if requested while also providing for a birth parent’s ability to say how and whether or not they would like to be contacted.

Owen’s bill now heads back to the House for concurrence on amendments, and then to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Click here to report a typo. Please provide the title of the article in your email.