The current Iowa statutes governing adoption records are nearly 60 years old and have not been shown to further the interests of the adoption triad of adoptees, adoptive parents and birth parents.
Iowa law says that the records can only be opened for "good cause". There is no statutory definition of "good cause" and no reported Iowa cases interpreting "good cause". The cases from other states give no solid guidance and triad members who want to open the records are left with a confusing legal labyrinth to wander through. The only two reported Iowa cases dealing with adoption records deal with grandparents' rights to visit the child in cases of relative adoptions.
Volz, 2 Iowa Practice § 29.25 et seq. (3d ed.) which deals with opening adoption records states that the records can only be opened to save a life. If the Iowa General Assembly had intended for life and death situations to be the standard, that would be the language of the statute. The standard stated in Volz indicates the lack of certainty regarding how to open the records.
There is no set procedure for petitioners to follow to obtain access to their records. They are forced to either hire a lawyer and pay for the chance to obtain their records, or attempt to do it themselves and hope they do it properly. Non-adopted Iowans have merely to pay a nominal fee to obtain their original birth certificates. This statutory segregation of adoptees and non-adopted Iowans unconstitutionally classifies Iowans according to birth status. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that people may not be punished for their birth status.
The Iowa Code states that the provisions dealing with adoption are to be liberally construed with the best interest of the child being paramount. The Iowa Code fails to recognize that adoptees grow up and become adults that are able to determine their own best interests.