 In the fall of 1997, a schoolteacher from a small town on the Oregon Coast set out to change adoption law in Oregon, through the state’s initiative process. With her grassroots ballot measure, Helen Hill hoped to reverse a 1957 law, which sealed access to original birth certificates from all adult adoptees. In her attempt to change the way Oregon law viewed adult adoptees, Hill’s crusade, known as “Measure 58”, gained national and international media attention. If this little grassroots ballot initiative actually passed, it could change the way other states treated their adult adoptees. She influenced the national discourse on open records and transformed her fight into a battle for civil rights. The film, Measurable Rights: The fight for open records in Oregon is Hill’s story. The potential for continued sweeping change is a reality. Prior to Hill’s initiative push, only two states, Kansas and Alaska, had open records for adult adoptees. The public battle caused a sea of change in adoption laws across the country. 
Filmmaker Paul Fournier captures the heart and soul of those who made history with Ballot Measure 58. He takes you through the hard work, the ups and downs, and the emotion of the initiative's humble beginnings to the final victory. |
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