Most adoptees in the America are never allowed to have the record of their own birth. But in the last fifteen years, a number of states have reversed sealed records laws. From Oregon to Maine, thousands of adoptees have now received their records, and a number of states are considering similar legislation.

Opponents have argued that birthmothers were promised confidentiality, but there is no statutory guarantee of privacy – and upwards of 98% of birthmothers indicate that they would welcome contact and/or the sharing of information.

In 2011, Illinois became the largest state in the Union to provide adoptees this right, providing 350,000 adoptees access to their records. A Simple Piece of Paper examines the impact of the release of these records, following a handful of the first people to receive this record. Their heartwarming – and heartwrenching – stories, provoke a new question: what would have happened if the state of Illinois had been able to do this sooner.