The original Birth Index is in printed form at the State Library in Austin. It has been searchable for years and in many cases contains both the birth name and adopted name of the child, depending on the age at adoption. I have helped three adult adoptees find their birth parents using those records. It is very time consuming. Of those three adult adoptees, only one was welcomed by her birth family. The other two were rejected. Locating one's birth parents or child can be painful and it is not always a good idea. Much thought must be given. However, the birth index files on-line contain the same information as that at the State Library so the availability is not "new". The fact that it is accessible on-line might make some uncomfortable, but it always been accessible if one made the trip to Austin. RM -----Original Message----- From: Sue Stepp [mailto:bbm34@prodigy.net] Sent: Monday, November 06, 2000 8:45 PM To: TXWILLIA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TXWILLIA] FW: Birth Records taken down from Web I have the 1976 file downloaded if anyone wants it. It is a very large file. ----- Original Message ----- From: Anna Price <annaprice@compaq.net> To: <TXWILLIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2000 3:46 PM Subject: [TXWILLIA] FW: Birth Records taken down from Web > I thought everyone should be aware of this. > > Thanks, > Anna Houston Price > Austin, TX > 512-231-0640 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: James Hollas [mailto:jameshollas@austin.rr.com] > Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2000 3:32 PM > To: AnnaPrice@compaq.net > Subject: Birth Records taken down from Web > > > Dear AGS Members, > Secretary Ginger Goetze passed this along for our members: > > Texas Birth Indexes. This page is temporarily unavailable. > > The Government Code permits indexes to be open records documents if the > fact > of adoption cannot be revealed. The Bureau of Vital Statistics has > identified > a possible case where the indexes may have assisted in the > identification of > an adoption. As part of the review process, we must evaluate the > existing > birth indexes to ensure compliance with the State law. Therefore, the > indexes > are temporarily unavailable until this review has been completed. It > could be > several months before the final review process is completed. > Ginger > > PS -- The pages are still available on RootsWeb.com where all can be > searched at once. -- james > > PPS -- Please note that my e-mail address has been changed to > jameshollas@austin.rr.com > >