Ira Carnahan

In American adoption, birth records have traditionally been sealed to protect birth parents and children from the stigma of adoption and unwed parenthood. Today, many birth parents establish relationships with their children after adoption while others wish to remain anonymous. In the following viewpoint, Ira Carnahan contends that adoption records should remain sealed if the birth parent requests it. Carnahan contends the movement to make sealed adoption records accessible to all adult adoptees, spearheaded by the adoptee rights organization Bastard Nation, threatens the right to confidentiality in adoption. He adds that vital medical and background information is already disclosed to adoptees; therefore, only birth parents should be allowed to release identifying information. Carnahan is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Carnahan, how does Bastard Nation advance its...