As the government reviews New Zealand's adoption laws, there have been increasing calls for the rights of children to be paramount.
The Human Rights Commission describes the 60-year-old legislation as outdated and discriminatory.
Tamara Martinez, an adoptee, has been on a mission to have her true identity officially recognised after growing up believing her step-dad was her birth father.
"I believe all parents should be on a birth certificate - an adoptive birth certificate so children can see their heritage," she said.
However, the current Adoption Act of 1955 doesn't guarantee this, and the Human Rights Commission wants an overhaul.
"The whole thing's outdated, it's over 60-years-old it was established at a time when adoption was a legal fiction that was basically created to severe ties with biological family members," said Human Rights Commission's chief legal officer, Janet Anderson-Bidois.
The legislation has also made it difficult for broadcaster Toni Street, who used a surrogate to carry her biological son.
Legally, this means her and her husband still have to adopt their newborn.
"That's outdated and I think the reality is what makes up a family is way different to what people expected back in the 1950s," said Justice Minister Andrew Little.
The Adoption Act has different rules for those who want to adopt children, including single men, civil union partners, and anyone under the age of 25.
It also stops adoptees from getting hold of their original birth certificates until they're 20.
"The law doesn't not give the child paramount consideration," said Ms Bidois.
For Ms Martinez, she only learnt that she faced potential medical issues of heart disease after finding out who her birth father was.
"If I had never known that I was adopted I would've never found this out, and from a medical point of view this information's paramount to people's existence," she said.
"What is most important is a child grows up in a place where they are loved cared for and nurtured," said Mr Little.
The Justice Minister now promises adoptees that changes will be made to reflect the modern world.
SHARE ME