85 year old Texas man, Jack Terrell, finally finds his birth family. Thanks to his DNA testing and learning his birth mother was a mere 70 miles away from where he grew up in his adoptive home!

Recently reunited with his two living sisters, Jack feels an emotional healing he hadn't known before, now he is finally getting to learn where he came from.

http://www.people.com/article/texas-man-finds-biological-family-after-eight-decades

Compare this to the deliberately sealed adoption records of the LDS church that last for the life of both the adoptee and the birth family. LDS goes to great lengths to deny adoptees closure on their birth families or reunions on "this side of the vale."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2016 12:23PM by Amyjo.

But, but, but... Adoptees are sealed to their adoptive parents, not the birth parents.

How glorious is having that kind of power!

Just remember not all adoption stories have a happy ending. There are people who want no contact with the child they gave up. They also should have that right.

I good friend would DIE if her child she gave up showed up on her door step. He was the result of date rape, and abortion was not an option when we were teens.

The rejection a second time would in my mind be unbearable.

This is especially true for male adoptees.

It is more common for girl adoptees to want to find their birth families than for the males.

It's the prospect of a second rejection that is overwhelming to a male's ego that prevents some from searching.

The first rejection was painful enough. The second rejection might be overwhelming to them.

Even when adoptees are separated at birth, there is a subconscious severing of those ties that bind that never leaves them. It's a primeval wound that never fully heals.

There are birth parents who don't want to know or meet their children placed for adoption.

Usually for those who seek it isn't only about whether or not they're going to be well received.

It also has to do with getting closure and finality on their birth families of origin and their DNA ancestry. It's an emotional connection for those who need to know for its own sake.

I suppose many of you have seen the adoption stories on a current TV show. Those are the happy ending stories, or close to it. Some are more positive than others.
It is true, that the bio parent has the right not to make contact with their child/adult.
Some bring a lot of joy, others are extremely difficult and filled with guilt, as they are kept private for decades.

My best friend was adopted, only found that out when he was 30. His adopted mother never wanted to tell him, but his dad felt he had the right to know.

My friend's response when I asked if he wanted to know his birth parents?

"Not at all. I already know my mom and dad. They're the ones who raised me."

I agree. I've known a few adopted people and none of them were

curious about their birth parents and they felt that the

parents who raised them were their real parents... they had

no desire to find out "where they came from".

I wonder if a decent percentage of the world's kids, when they find out about adoption, wish their mothers had used that option?

I'm a sucker for 'feel good' stories, but I don't think the desire to find one's birth parents should be implied as the way things ought to be.

But I'm the first to admit that me having an opinion about something I haven't experienced is not useful.