2013 ORS § 109.430¹
Policy and purpose
It is the policy of this state that adoption is based upon the legal termination of parental rights and responsibilities of birth parents and the creation of the legal relationship of parents and child between an adoptee and the adoptive parents. These legal and social premises underlying adoption must be maintained. The state recognizes that some adults who were adopted as children have a strong desire to obtain identifying information about their birth parents or putative father while other such adult adoptees have no such desire. The state further recognizes that some birth parents have a strong desire to obtain identifying information about their biological children who were adopted, while other birth parents have no such desire. The state fully recognizes the right to privacy and confidentiality of birth parents whose children were adopted, the adoptees and the adoptive parents. The purpose of ORS 109.425 (Definitions for ORS 109.425 and 109.435 to 109.507) to 109.507 (Access to Department of Human Services records required) and 432.250 (Access to adoption records) is to:
(1) Set up a voluntary adoption registry where birth parents, putative fathers and adult adoptees may register their willingness to the release of identifying information to each other;
(2) Provide for the disclosure of identifying information to birth parents and their genetic offspring through a social worker employed by a licensed adoption agency, if a birth parent or parents or putative father and the adult adoptee are registered;
(3) Provide for the transmission of nonidentifying health and social and genetic history of the adult adoptees, birth parents, putative fathers and other specified persons; and
(4) Provide for disclosure of specific identifying information to Indian tribes or governmental agencies when needed to establish the adoptees eligibility for tribal membership or for benefits or to a person responsible for settling an estate that refers to the adoptee. [1983 c.672 §1; 1989 c.372 §5; 1995 c.79 §40; 1995 c.730 §8; 1997 c.442 §2; 2013 c.346 §15]
Note: See note under 109.425 (Definitions for ORS 109.425 and 109.435 to 109.507).