No Foreign Employment Advantages Exception to Confidentiality of Adoption Records—Not Even for Opera Singers

From a 2017 case that I just came across, Petition to Unseal Record of Adoption of Robert (written by Surrogate Rita Mella):

Petitioner contends that, if, as he hopes, he can establish, by means of [his late father] Robert's pre-adoption birth certificate, that the birthplace of Robert's biological father was Italy, he and his two adult children would be able to obtain Italian citizenship and thus citizenship in the European Union, which would serve to advance their respective careers, in particular, that of his daughter, an opera singer.  {Petitioner states: "I am recognized for my expertise as an international employment lawyer" and "have need to travel and temporarily reside in Italy (and elsewhere in Europe) for business and professional reasons." … [P]etitioner's counsel averred: "The most direct beneficiary will be petitioner's daughter … who is pursuing a career as a professional opera singer. There are far more opportunities for opera singers, and substantially more opera houses, in Italy and other European Union countries, than in the United States."} …

Petitioner argues that "no person's right of privacy or expectation of confidentiality will be invaded if this Petition is granted." Petitioner's counsel argued at the hearing that Robert would seek the same relief if he were alive today. At issue here, however, is not only the violation of Robert's confidentiality but also that of Robert's biological parents.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene posits that, as custodian of Vital Records, it has a vested interest in maintaining the strong policy of the State of New York to afford confidentiality to all parties to an adoption. The Department argues that the primary ground for granting access to a sealed adoption record is medical necessity, and that prima facie evidence of "good cause" is a need to examine the medical records of an adoptee's biological parents in order "to address a serious physical or mental illness" but only after a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York has certified such need. The Department further contends that professional advancement and financial gain fall far short of the "good cause" contemplated by the Legislature…. Having considered the arguments of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the court … denies the petition for failure to establish good cause ….