I respect everything I've read in this article.. I have a predicament that reaches to another generation. My Mother was adopted the record sealed. She remembered & had pictures of herself and others in the orphanage. I remember a conversation we (her 3 daughters) had, with Her and she always wondered why nobody Loved Her or wanted Her... I said they wanted You more, You were Special. I remembered thinking from that moment on, that I wanted to find out FOR Her... that was approximately 1970. Here's the twist, my Mom the adoptee was to perish in August of 1972 in a tragic car accident... she was 33 years old... I was twelve, I just turned 50, I was curious at first.. even after Her death.
I have no idea what part of MY Nationality is.. she died to young to know if there were any hereditary diseases in Her genetic makeup. I have no Medical Records with which to offer any of my Children or There children. I really have no interest in who this Woman is... other then to hear a name and get a Medical History. Is that a crime. How fair is it that I cannot obtain Her sealed records in my lifetime, because She is dead... as I'm quite sure All the players in this saga probably are. If all parties are no longer living, what harm is it for me to know my History, I wouldn't be hurting anyone or stepping on toes. It really unsettles MY Heart... I feal incomplete.

As I'm not an adoptee, I simply do NOT understand how someone can feel hurt or incomplete by not knowing something they've not known their entire life.

And frankly, if your mom was in her 30s in the 70s, that means she was born around 1940. My grandmother was born in 1939, and HER mother is still VERY much around. So... you don't know that "all parties are deceased".

If you have a legitimate need to know for medical reasons, you can certainly appeal to the courts to release your genetic information.

Otherwise, your legal options are pretty much limited to hiring a licensed private investigator to find what clues she/he can regarding your mother's birth story.

I cannot agree with opening records because people are NEVER content with just getting the information. They ALWAYS want to contact SOMEONE, with no regard to how that might affect people. Your mother's birthmother probably went on to have a marriage and family--and do you think that everyone in that family would be pleased to know that she had another child prior to that?

One thing I must note here: If your mother was in an orphanage, you may be able to get her records from that institution. I know that laws on this vary by state, and I'm not as up to date on them as I am on adoption law. You would have to check with an attorney in your state to find out if you can access your mother's orphanage records.