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W e d n e s d ay, A p r i l 23, 2025
‘Connected all the dots in my life’
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New La. law helps adoptees find their birth mothers BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Born in New Orleans and adopted at eight weeks, Elise Lewis found her birth parents in 1996 when she was 28. But something important was missing: her birth certificate, with all the details it contained. A 2022 law gave Lewis and other adoptees in Louisiana the right to obtain it. When the birth certificate arrived in the mail, “I literally burst into tears,” said Lewis, who grew up in Baton Rouge but now lives in Minnesota. “It was the most emotional thing. I saw my mother’s handwriting. I felt like I was complete. I didn’t have any secrets anymore.” COURTESY OF JON HARRIS Others have used the law to find and meet their birth moth- Jon Harris, right, was able to meet his birth mother for the first time thanks to a new ers. Louisiana law that allowed him to get a copy of his full birth certificate. About 1,650 people in Louisiana have received their birth certificates since 2022, according to said only two mothers have done that. hiring an attorney, but it was going to Jon Harris, 54, was alerted about be expensive. Every few years, I’d the state health department. Adoptees the existence of HB450 just before it revisit the forums and make another have to be at least 24 to request it. post.” “A grown person ought to be able to passed. Harris always knew he was adopted Like Lewis, Harris was ecstatic get their birth certificate, and that’s what it’s all about,” said state Rep. and appreciated growing up in what when he received the birth certificate. Then Harris asked himself: “Is my Chuck Owen, R-Rosepine, when he he calls “a great Christian family” in Shreveport. birth mother still alive? Will I ever presented the bill three years ago. By his early 20s, Harris wanted to find my birth father? The certificate He told his colleagues he had been learn his family history. said unknown.” adopted. “My adopted mom and dad and I An executive recruiter in Texas, “This bill is about a grown person having access to a document that they didn’t have a lot of similar interests,” Harris set out to use his work skills to are named in but can’t access because Harris said. “Dad was a church minis- find his mother. Within a couple of days, he found 12 of a government edict,” Owen said. ter, while I liked motorcycles. Where House Bill 450, which overturned a does that come from? On every doc- phone numbers for people with her 1977 law, passed with an overwhelm- tor’s visit, they would ask: ‘Do you name. “I began calling with a script,” Haring majority in both the House and have any medical history?’ I said I Senate. Opponents expressed con- didn’t know.’ ” ris said. “I would say my birth date” Harris’ parents told him he had and say “if it means anything to you, cerns that birth mothers who wanted no contact with their child would be been born in Shreveport and adopted please give me a call.” Two weeks later, on a Sunday morncontacted and because of that fear at the Volunteers of America girls’ they could choose to have an abortion home there. ing before church, Harris received The center could give him only lim- a text from a woman saying that the instead of giving up the child to adoption. ited information because of the 1977 birth date meant something to her. She called Harris that afternoon, If the adopted person reaches out to law. Harris learned that his birth their birth mother, “the two can have mother was light-skinned and blonde, and “and we talked for hours. She an adult conversation,” said Lewis, had green eyes, was 5’3” and weighed was ecstatic to meet me. She was 18 who worked with Owen to win pas- 100 pounds. His birth father was into at the time and a senior in high school. sage of the legislation. “We have not cars and motorcycles. Her parents She got her nursing degree, her masheard of any backlash or ill effects didn’t have a lot of means, and her fa- ter’s degree, was in the Army for from this law.” many, many years. Her fear was that ther was a veteran. Louisiana joined 10 other states in I had been in a war and gotten killed. That was it. allowing adoptees to obtain their birth “They said everything else was She thought about me every day and certificates, Owen said. His bill allows under lock and key,” Harris said. “I looked for me for a while.” mothers to check a box saying they joined an adoptee forum but ran into ä See ADOPTION, page 2 don’t ever want to be contacted. Owen dead end after dead end. I looked into
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A grown person ought to be able to get their birth certificate, and that’s what it’s all about. STATE REP. CHUCK OWEN, R-Rosepine
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Jan Risher LONG STORY SHORT
The little lessons matter: From mnemonics to manners With the Inspired section, we focus on people who are working toward solutions — some big, some small. The thing is, sometimes the small things can become big — or make a huge difference in how a situation evolves. Growing up, my mother believed that table manners mattered, but at our casual family-oriented table, we rarely had a bread dish beside the plate. I will also add here that I am the worst at left and right. While I usually can point out north, south, east and west wherever I am, I have to think hard every single time I have to figure out left from right. (I realize that may make no sense to the many people out there to whom it comes so naturally.) The truth is, I love a good mnemonic device. They have helped me remember so many different things through the years. Way back in elementary school piano lessons, my first piano teacher, Mrs. Winnie Mae Mitchell, taught me to read the keys on the lines of a treble clef with Every Good Boy Does Fine. In high school, Mrs. Donna McLean, my junior English teacher, taught me to spell necessary with, “A cess pool is necessary.” In college, Dr. MaryAnn Dazey taught me to spell separate with, “There is ‘a rat’ in separate.” Somewhere along the way, I learned Roy G. Biv to remember the order of the colors of a spectrum — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I’m a fan of learning new things, but many years have passed since I added a helpful mnemonic to my collection. However, about a month ago, I found myself sitting at a crowded table full of professors — and one of them taught me something new. The dinner ended up being lovely all the way around — great food and delightful company. However, as we were all arriving, things were a bit awkward. No one seemed to know anyone particularly well, and we just weren’t sure where we were supposed to sit or the exact order of things for this unusual gathering of folks. Nonetheless, we all took our seats. Small plates and multiple glasses crowded the table among a plethora of utensils, large and small plates galore. The waiter handed me a bread basket. I took a roll and had that moment of panic. Which one is my bread plate? I quickly handed the bread to the dinner guest beside me who seemed to be struck by the same indecision I was trying not to acknowledge. Dr. Jonathan H. Earle, dean of the LSU Honors College, was sitting directly across from me and noticed us trying to sort out the plates and glasses. He and I had met once before, but we didn’t know each other well by any stretch. He began to lift both of his hands in front of his face, making the OK sign with both thumbs and index fingers. Then he said, “B and D” several times in a row. He said this like we would all know exactly what he was talking about. I had no clue. Rather than remain in the “B and D” dark, I asked, “What are you doing with your hands, and what do you mean by saying ‘B and D?’”
ä See RISHER, page 2