Ohio to reissue some adoptees’ newly unsealed birth records

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio will reissue about three dozen adoptees’ original birth certificates after complaints that some got the newly unsealed documents with too much information redacted.

In March, a law unsealed birth records of about 400,000 people whose adoptions were finalized between 1964 and 1996. A sponsor, Sen. Bill Beagle of Tipp City, says the law lets the state redact only the names of the 250-plus birth parents who filed for anonymity.

But in some cases, the Department of Health also blocked addresses and information that might help identify parents.

Beagle tells The Columbus Dispatch the department director notified him that it has clarified lawmakers’ intent under the law.

One adoptee who got a redacted certificate, Meg Collins, says she’ll be happy to receive a record with more information this time.