Block Adoption Disclosure

October 16, 2006 permalink

One of Canada's top lawyers, Clayton Ruby, takes the position that it is unconstitutional to allow adopted children and their natural parents to find each other, and seeks to nullify a law enacted last year for that purpose.

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Lawyer Clayton Ruby To Challenge Adoption Law

Friday October 13, 2006

One of Canada's best-known lawyers is standing up for people who were adopted who say an adoption law passed in Ontario last year violates their right to privacy.

Clayton Ruby says the Adoption Information Disclosure Act is "dumb" and "unconstitutional" and is launching a constitutional challenge against the legislation.

The law allows birth parents or adoptees to receive identifying information about each other.

"The idea is going forward that we're going to have a new set of rules. The old rules about secrecy and privacy will not apply but will move forward in a world of openness," Ruby said Friday. "The problem is then what about those people who were promised privacy?"

Ruby is representing Denbigh Patton and Joy Cheskes, who were both adopted as children. They say they have well-established family lives and are afraid their birth parents could try to contact them.

"As adoptees, we feel that, that as adults, we should have control over who has access to our personally identifying information," Cheskes explained.

Ruby said it is unfair to re-open the records of people who were guaranteed privacy years ago. A woman who got pregnant at 15 and gave the baby up for adoption also may not welcome that child's efforts to contact her in the future, he added

Source: City News