WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A STATE PROVIDES ADOPTED CITIZENS ACCESS TO THEIR ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATES?
A Simple Piece of Paper documents a new law providing Illinois adoptees with the actual record of their birth. Adoptees nationwide have numerous reasons for needing access to their original birth certificates, from critical health issues to simply wanting the right to state-held records about themselves – a right all other citizens enjoy. A Simple Piece of Paper follows a handful of adoptees as they receive their record. Their combined stories provoke a new question: what would happened if this legislation had been able to pass this sooner?