If you’re pregnant and thinking about placing your baby for adoption, it’s OK to have lots of questions. Some of those questions may be about birth parents and the right to privacy, especially when it comes to adoption planning.
Lifetime Adoption is a domestic open adoption agency, and we take privacy seriously. We honor and protect our birth parents’ right to privacy before, during, and after the adoption. Everything with Lifetime is confidential.
As an expectant mother considering adoption, you don’t have to tell your family. You have the right to disclose only as much information as you are comfortable with. All your medical records are protected by what’s known as HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
As the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services states, HIPAA rules “contain privacy, security, and breach notification requirements that apply to individually identifiable health information created, received, maintained, or transmitted by health care providers who engage in certain electronic transactions, health transactions, health plans, health care clearinghouses, and their business associates.”
Long story short: When it comes to adoption, you can expect and demand complete privacy and confidentiality through the entire adoption planning process.
With open adoptions, both expectant mothers and adoptive families make arrangements for post-adoption contact. This is usually discussed prior to the child’s birth so that everyone can agree on what is best for everyone involved.
However, it’s important to remember that not all birth parents will choose the same path after adoption. We also honor and respect this decision. Open adoption lets birth mothers choose the adoptive parents she will place her baby with. It also lets birth parents decide how much or how little contact they have with the adoptive family and the child.
Lifetime Adoption and the Right to Privacy for Birth Parents
Adoption laws vary by state, and privacy laws cover a wide range of issues. The question of birth parents’ right to privacy is the kind of thing that courts consider — sometimes all the way up to the Supreme Court.
But when it comes to adoption planning, even open adoptions, expectant moms can still arrange for a level of privacy that they find comfortable.
There are lots of questions that come up with this topic. To speak with a caring adoption coordinator about this or any other adoption-related issue, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Lifetime Adoption today.
Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P., is nationally recognized as an expert on open adoption. A Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P.), Caldwell is the founder of Lifetime Adoption Center, established in 1986. She has assisted in over 2,000 successful adoptions and was one of the first adoption professionals on the Internet.
Caldwell’s life work is dedicated to educating and helping birth parents find the right adoptive parents for their child. She spreads the word about modern adoption through speaking appearances, webinars, online resources, and as a podcast show host.
She has written several award-winning books, including So I Was Thinking About Adoption, the first book of its kind. There are many reasons women choose adoption, and this short book is a comprehensive resource to make the best plan for you and your baby. Caldwell wrote So I Was Thinking About Adoption as a handy guide to the details of the adoption process.
Caldwell has made over 150 media appearances, including ABC News, CBS News, Larry King Live, CNN Headline News, NBC’s The Today Show, CNN’s The Campbell Brown Show, NBC News, KGO Newstalk Radio, CNN’s Black in America II, MSNBC, Fox, PBS, BBC, and Dr. Laura.