Vol. 7, No. 6, Pg. 38. Releasing Names of Biologic Parents: Justice or an Accident of Birth.

• Author: By Harris L. Beach Jr.

South Carolina Lawyer

1996.

Vol. 7, No. 6, Pg. 38.

Releasing Names of Biologic Parents: Justice or an Accident of Birth

38RELEASING NAMES OF BIOLOGIC PARENTS: JUSTICE OR AN ACCIDENT OF BIRTH?By Harris L. Beach Jr.One bright spot in domestic practice is adoption. In most cases, the adoptive parents are happy, their lawyers are happy, the Department of Social Services (DSS) or the Children's Bureau is happy, and the judge is happy. However, there is another person in that room-the adoptive child. He or she probably has no idea what is going on; some day the child may want information that is difficult to uncover.

THE CLIENT'S BACKGROUND

A client, a 21 year old man, appears in the office and relates the following information. John Doe was born in December 1973 and was in foster care after he was released from the hospital. His biologic mother and father signed consents to adoption in 1975, and he was subsequently adopted by loving parents.

The adoptive parents are both deceased, and this young man has worked his way through school and is about to graduate from college. He has no close living relatives from his adoptive family and wants someone to share this great moment in his life. He wants to share it with his biologic mother and father.

He bears no animosity towards his biologic parents and states that he understands that they must have had valid reasons for giving him up for adoption. He has been to DSS and received the usual packet of nonidentifying information. He has become obsessed with his biologic parents, and he has sought professional counseling. As part of the therapy, the counselor advised him to try to find his biologic parents.

A FORMIDABLE TASK

Research of the statutes and case law reveals that John Doe has a hard task ahead of him. The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act may appear to allow discovery of the information sought.

However, the doors close very quickly under paragraph four of § 30-4-40, which sets forth the exemptions from the Act. In that provision, any information that has been"... specifically exempted from disclosure by statute or law" is exempt from disclosure. South Carolina Statute § 20-7-1780 specifically states that these records are not to be disclosed.

THE CHILDREN'S CODE

The Children's Code was enacted in 1981. Section 20-7-1780, dealing with records, was substantially...