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USATODAY.com Nation News
Christie conditionally vetoes N.J. adoption bill
23 Jun 2011, 8:32 pm
Christie conditionally vetoes N.J. adoption bill TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie sent an adoption records bill back to the Legislature Thursday, creating a new hurdle in a 30-year push by advocates to give adoptees access to their birth parents' identities. Christie's conditional veto stakes out his position against the most contentious aspect of the bill, which would allow adoptees to find out the identities of their birth parents against the wishes of those parents. The veto came 45 days after the Legislature passed the bill — the deadline or Christie to take action. "The decision of any biological parent to seek adoptive parents for a child is an enormously complicated choice, and the protections of anonymity can be a significant consideration when choosing adoption," Christie said in a statement. As passed by the Legislature, the bill would have given future adoptees access to their original birth certificate — with the names of their birth parents — once they turn 18. Although birth parents could list their preference not to be contacted by the child they surrendered, adoptees wouldn't have been required to respect the preference. Parents who gave children up for adoption prior to passage of the bill would have had one year to opt out and have their names redacted from the certificate. "I am disappointed, because I think the changes he wants treat adult children like they were little kids," Sen. Joseph Vitale, one of the bill's sponsors, told The Associated Press. "The conditional veto places roadblocks to the identification that shouldn't be in their way." Christie's changes are twofold: •People put up for adoption years ago would be able to use agency-provided intermediaries to search for parents and request their consent to share their information with the adoptees. If the intermediaries can't locate the birth parents in one year, adoptees would be given access to their original birth certificates, with the names of their parents included. But if parents are located and say no, adoptees would be denied access. In that situation, parents would still be required to provide family medical histories, which health advocates say are important for screening for genetic illnesses. •For future adoptions, parents would be required to state their contact preferences at the time of adoption, and adoptees would be required to respect them. The adoption records bill, which meandered back and forth between the state Senate and General Assembly in various forms for more than 30 years, finally passed on May 9. It had been fought by an unlikely alliance between legal groups who say it violates privacy concerns and anti-abortion advocates who fear it will encourage women facing unplanned pregnancies to choose abortion instead of adoption. "This appears to be a win-win compromise that takes into account the rights and desires of all parties in adoptions," said Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 
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