In most states, people who have been adopted are not allowed to have access to (a)their files. They have no idea who their real parents are or why they were put up for adoption, and all their attempts to discover (b)this information are met with firm resistance from the government. In short, adoption officials will tell them nothing.

  However, in the past decade, many adoptees have publicly protested this situation, and some states have changed (c)their previous policies. Indeed, this change in adoption policy should take place nationwide. Adoptees need to know about their parents and their past, and those who do not care can simply refuse access to their files.

  Although restrictions against opening adoption files make the search much harder, they do not necessarily discourage those adoptees who want to discover who their biological parents are. Those men and women who are desperate to find (d)what they want to know will, if they can afford it, hire a detective to find out. If not, some of them are willing to devote all their time and energy to finding more about (e)their origins.