Adoptees will have access to birth certificates Jan. 1

Steve Hamblin is a reserved man in his 40s, a retired Marine who likes fast cars and owns a construction company in Fredericktown, Missouri. He grew up in Cape Girardeau, adopted by Bob and Kaye Hamblin as an infant, with a sister, Laurie, who also was adopted.

He loved his home, his parents, his sister, but the question was always there: what about his birth parents?

Thanks to the Missouri Adoptee Rights Act, signed into law by former Gov. Jay Nixon last year, Hamblin and other Missouri adoptees will have access to their original birth certificates, beginning Jan. 1.

Breaking the Seal, an event this weekend in Jefferson City hosted by G’s Adoption Registry, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), will celebrate the adoptees’ access to their information. The event includes speakers, events and entertainment, and an appearance by State Rep. Don Phillips, who sponsored the bill.

Hamblin said having been adopted was different from what people talk about, when they say it’s like a piece of a puzzle was missing.

Kay Hamblin, left, pokes the face of her adopted son, Steve, while holding his hand Friday at her home in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

“I was the piece, and it was the rest of the puzzle that was different,” he said.

He never quite knew where to start with finding out who his birth parents were, he said, even though he was surrounded by the people who handled his adoption.

The attorney who handled his adoption was his Scout master.

The doctor who delivered him was the father of one of his grade-school classmates.

The social worker who handled the case went to their church.

Bob Hamblin, back left, and his wife, Kay, back right, stand above their adopted son, Steve, for a family portrait Friday at their home in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

There were others, too, Hamblin said, who knew exactly who his birth parents were, but the law in Missouri did not allow these people to discuss any identifying information about his biological parents.

And the law also didn’t allow adoptees in a closed adoption access to their original birth certificates, he said.

That meant Hamblin and many other Missouri-born adoptees didn’t have ready access to medical history or family heritage.

He said there were medical tests his insurance company wouldn’t pay for because he couldn’t show family history of medical conditions. He said his first daughter was born prematurely and, without a family medical history, there were a lot of questions his doctors had he simply couldn’t answer.

Even though he knew he was adopted, and his parents gave him their full support when he decided to look into finding his biological parents, the prospect was still daunting.

He could have hired a private investigator for a $3,000 retainer and no guarantee anything would come up, he said.

He did pay a $200 fee to the Bureau of Vital Records for a document with non-identifying information from his adoption file but, he said, that information didn’t yield anything useful.

With the full support of his partner, Tera Ramsey, Hamblin went ahead with getting his DNA tested using a commercial service. He found a distant cousin, he said, who lived in England and who was able to give them a couple of names, but not much new information.

Hamblin’s daughter also had her DNA tested, and she found several additional relatives, he said.

That’s how she found one of Hamblin’s biological siblings.

He found her name on social media, reached out, and within a few short months, he had found several family members, all of whom were happy to hear from him.

Hamblin said he realizes that isn’t always the case.

“Not everyone has a good experience, but most I’ve met do,” he said.

Unfortunately, Hamblin said, while he was searching for his birth parents, his biological mother passed away. He never got to meet her.

Opponents to the legislation argued the biological parents were promised confidentiality, Hamblin said.

But not allowing access to direct information means back channels have to be used, and “with DNA, with Facebook, there is no privacy,” Hamblin said.

Heather Dodd, founder of the Missouri Adoptee Rights Movement, agreed, saying it would be much more private for a birth mother and child to speak directly rather than involving more members of the family, as often happens in Missouri now.

Dodd said she was greatly appreciative of all the people, organizations and legislators who have worked together for several years to bring this opportunity to Missouri adoptees.

Her mother was adopted in Missouri, she said, and Dodd helped her find information about her own biological family. That process took 13 years, she said.

Allowing adoptees access to their original birth certificates seemed like a logical, needed step, Dodd said.

Nixon signed the bill into law last year, and the Adoptee Rights Act was implemented in phases. First, adoptees born before 1941 were granted access to their birth certificates, in August.

A few months’ delay for access for those born after 1941 allowed for biological parents to contact the Bureau of Vital Records and indicate they wished to remain anonymous, said Sharon Cummins, co-founder of the Adoption Triad of the Ozarks, who worked to pass the Adoptee Rights Act.

Cummins, a Kansas resident, gave a daughter up for adoption more than 40 years ago and was reunited with her about 20 years ago. She said her daughter found her more easily than a Missourian would have, and because of that experience, Cummins wanted to help change Missouri’s law.

Finding the information isn’t good enough on its own, said Tera Ramsey. She said she has family members who were adopted, and because of that, she understands the unique struggle of someone trying to find information about their biological relatives.

It was because of Ramsey’s support, Steve Hamblin said, that he kept looking, kept trying to find information.

The prospect is daunting, he said.

His adoption records, for instance, were on file at the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau, less than a block from his parents’ house, but the file wasn’t under the adoption case number. It wasn’t under Hamblin, or his mother’s maiden name, or his father’s surname. It wasn’t under his birth date, either, he said.

Since he was being put up for adoption, Hamblin said, he wasn’t given a name at birth. He was born on a Wednesday, so his adoption file was listed under Baby Boy Wednesday.

That’s just a sample of what he was up against, he added.

Hamblin said he was gratified to know other Missourians will have a chance at more information on where they came from.

Heather Dodd said, after all these years working toward the goal, “it’s hard to believe it’s happening,” adding she doesn’t have official numbers, but has heard hundreds of adoptees have submitted their applications to request a copy of their birth certificates.

“It’s pretty amazing how many lives have been affected by the passage of this bill,” Dodd said. “We’re just glad people are finally getting their truth.”

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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