§ 4138-E — Adoptee's right to a certified copy of his or her birth certificate

§ 4138-e. Adoptee's right to a certified copy of his or her birth\ncertificate. 1. The legislature hereby states its intention to\nacknowledge, support and encourage the life-long health and well-being\nneeds of persons who have been and will be adopted in this state. The\nlegislature further recognizes that the denial of access to accurate and\ncomplete medical and self-identifying data of any adopted person, known\nand wilfully withheld by others, may result in such person succumbing to\npreventable disease, premature death or otherwise unhealthy life, is a\nviolation of that person's human rights and is contrary to the tenets of\ngovernment. As such, the provisions of this section seek to establish\nconsiderations under the law for adopted persons equal to such\nconsiderations permitted by law to all non-adopted persons; this section\ndoes so while providing for the privacy of an adopted person and his or\nher birth.\n 2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner or\na local registrar or any person authorized by the commissioner or a\nlocal registrar, upon application, proof of identity and payment of a\nnominal fee, shall issue certified copies of original long form line by\nline, vault copy birth certificates, including any change attached to\nthat certificate by a birth parent or parents, and any information\nprovided to the commissioner or a local registrar pursuant to\nsubdivision one of section one hundred fourteen of the domestic\nrelations law, to (i) an adopted person, if eighteen years of age or\nmore, or (ii) if the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's\ndirect line descendants, or (iii) the lawful representatives of such\nadopted person, or lawful representatives of such deceased adopted\nperson's direct line descendants, as the case may be.\n (b) When it shall be impossible for the commissioner or a local\nregistrar to provide a copy of an adult adopted person's original long\nform birth certificate (as may occur in the case of an adopted person\nborn outside of, but adopted within, the state and such certificate is\nnot part of the records of the commissioner or a local registrar), the\ntrue and correct information about the adopted person and the adopted\nperson's birth parents, including their identifying information, that\nwould have appeared on such original birth certificate shall be provided\nto: (i) the adopted person, if eighteen years of age or more, or (ii) if\nthe adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line\ndescendants, or (iii) the lawful representatives of such adopted person,\nor lawful representatives of such deceased adopted person's direct line\ndescendants, as the case may be by any authorized agency as defined in\nparagraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision ten of section three hundred\nseventy-one of the social services law. In such case, the agency shall\nbe held harmless from any liability arising out of the disclosure.\n (c) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "commissioner" shall\ninclude the state commissioner of health, the commissioner of health and\nmental hygiene of the city of New York and for records of birth prior to\nJanuary first, nineteen hundred fourteen, the local registrars of the\ncities of Albany, Buffalo and Yonkers.\n