Unsealed adoption records renew adoptee's hope of discovering her past

Lorraine Thompson awoke Easter Sunday with the hope her almost 10-year-long quest to discover her past will soon come to an end.

April 1 was the first day adoptees could apply to receive freshly unsealed adoption records under new legislation in New Brunswick, and Thompson is anxious to learn more about herself and receive important information, like medical histories.

Thompson was part of a coalition that lobbied the provincial government to open adoption records. Now that time has come, she said it's both exciting and emotional.

"Nobody understands what it's like to not know who you are and where you came from," said Thompson, who grew up in Dipper Harbour and lives nearby.

"It's fitting the pieces of your life together."

Finding those pieces has been a struggle, however.

'I'm not looking for a family'

Thompson, 65, began seeking information about her birth family in 2009 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She contacted Post Adoption Disclosure Services for her non-identifying information and a medical search.

But she's only gathered bits of information in the following years.

Every Canadian should be treated equally and adoptees are not treated equally.- Lorraine Thompson

She knows she was born Dec. 31, 1952, in Saint John and spent time in a protestant orphanage. She was conceived during a brief extra-marital affair, and she was put up for adoption at the request of her birth mother's husband.

She has at least six half siblings, and she learned her first two names: Cheryl Lynn.

But there was little else. Her birth mother refused to acknowledge she had given birth to Thompson, and a half sibling, who was unaware of her existence, provided only two pieces of information in a medical history — her birth father died of a heart attack and another relative died of cancer.

Learning her birth family's medical history is needed to help protect her family, Thompson said.

"I'm not looking for a family. I'm looking for information," said Thompson, who has been frustrated with the red tape shrouding her past.

"It's a human right to know your roots and your history, and every Canadian should be treated equally and adoptees are not treated equally."

Potential roadblock

Thompson is hopeful the unsealed records will answer her many questions.

But there could be another roadblock.

For adoptions that happened before April 1, 2018, an adult adoptee or a birth parent will be able to apply for information about the other person, but the other person can veto its release.

For adoptions after April 1, 2018, birth parents will be told that information may someday be released to the adoptee, but they can choose not to be contacted.

"This is my information," she said.

"This is about me, so I'm asking when I sent this off for a copy of my file in its original form and not with somebody going through it and picking and choosing what they think I should know."

The post-April 1, 2018, birth parents would be able to select what kind of contact they have with the adoptees, if any. The same would apply to adopted children once they reach 19.

The pre-April 1, 2018, birth parents and adoptees would each have one year to invoke a veto. If they don't respond or can't be reached, the information will be released.

The adoptee has to be 19 years old to request information.