If the system were designed to protect adoptees, why do so many have to fight for their rights?

— DaShanne Stokes

Discovering that I was adopted redefined my entire world, but it taught me that who you are doesn't change.

— DaShanne Stokes

Adoptees deserve open records because deception and partial truths do not set us free.

— DaShanne Stokes

Adoptee rights are everyone's rights, and they deserve to be protected.

— DaShanne Stokes

Blood can help make family, but family often transcends blood.

— DaShanne Stokes

Adoption isn't just a childhood experience, it's a life-long experience.

— DaShanne Stokes

Being denied their original birth certificates isn't just a problem for adoptees. It's a social problem, requiring social change.

— DaShanne Stokes

Laws forbidding adoptees from accessing their original birth certificates are outdated and need to be changed today.

— DaShanne Stokes