After reading Bryan Dench’s letter of June 24 concerning adoption, I feel the need to respond from the perspective of an adoptee.
From the day I was told of my adoption, I felt different, and knew that one day I must find out who I really was. And, thankfully, I was able to.
Having children made it very important for me to know my ethnic origins and medical history.
Other people take for granted who they are, but adoptees don’t have that knowledge, and may have a difficult time dealing with the way they view themselves.
After finding my biological parents, I felt much more comfortable with my adoption – and both sets of parents. Adoptive parents have nothing to fear and so much to gain.
Every adoptee has a story, and they should have the right to hear it if they choose. There are many people who may feel incomplete because they have so many unanswered questions about themselves. Like anyone else, an adoptee should have the right, on becoming an adult, to those answers.
Others are making decisions about a situation that is not of our making. Our rights are being denied by these sealed records and that is not fair.
Probably only another adoptee can understand this perspective, but I wish others would try to put themselves in the same situation.
The rights of adoptees to know about themselves should not be denied.
Linda Neal, Wales
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