Opinion ID: 1803531
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Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Right to Receive Information.

Text: Steven contends that denying himan adult adopteethe right to see his adoption records violates his freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the Federal Constitution and article I, section 7 of the Iowa Constitution. In support of his contention, he argues that freedom of speech under these constitutional provisions encompass the right to receive information, including private information such as adoption records. The First Amendment of the Federal Constitution prohibits Congress from making any law abridging free speech. This prohibition applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296, 303, 60 S.Ct. 900, 903, 84 L.Ed. 1213, 1217-18 (1940). The Iowa Constitution also protects free speech and imposes the same restrictions on the regulation of speech as does the Federal Constitution. State v. Milner, 571 N.W.2d 7, 12 (Iowa 1997). To date [n]o federal or state court has accepted this constitutional challenge. Kuhns, 24 Golden Gate U.L. Rev at 268. As Kuhns explains, [a]lthough recognizing that adoptees have a general right to privacy and to receive information, the courts have rejected the argument that adoptees have a fundamental right to learn the identities of their biological parents. The courts maintain that no constitutional or personal right is unconditional and absolute to the exclusion of the rights of all other individuals. The right to privacy and to information asserted by adoptees directly conflicts with the right to privacy of birth parents to be left alone. Due to these conflicting interests, the sealed records statutes are upheld because they bear a rational relationship to the permissible state objective of protecting the integrity of the adoption process. Although the adoptee may no longer need the state's protection upon reaching adulthood, courts state that the birth parents' interest in confidentiality may actually become stronger. Id. at 268-69 (footnotes omitted); accord In re Roger B., 84 Ill.2d 323, 49 Ill.Dec. 731, 418 N.E.2d 751, 757 (1981); Mills v. Atlantic City Dep't of Vital Statistics, 148 N.J.Super. 302, 372 A.2d 646, 650-52 (1977). We agree with this analysis and adopt it. We conclude therefore that Steven has not established beyond a reasonable doubt that our statutory provisions regarding sealing of adoption records violate free speech under the Federal or Iowa Constitutions.