IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

 

PROMISE DOE, KIMBERLY C. )

and RUSS C., and SMALL WORLD )

MINISTRIES, INC., )

)

Plaintiffs, )

)

v. ) No. 3-96-0599

) JUDGE NIXON

DONALD SUNDQUIST, Governor )

of the State of Tennessee, in his )

official capacity; CHARLES )

BURSON, Attorney General of the )

State of Tennessee, in his )

official capacity; and LINDA )

RUDOLPH, in her official capacity )

as the Commissioner of the )

Department of Human Services for )

the State of Tennessee, )

)

Defendants. )

 

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF TENNESSEE )

)

COUNTY OF BLOUNT )

I, JANICE AKERS, being first duly sworn according to law, do hereby depose and state as follows:

1. I am an adult citizen and a resident of Tennessee. In 1972, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I gave birth to a child and voluntarily chose to relinquish my parental rights, releasing the child for adoption. This adoption took place in Tennessee, and all records of the adoption have remained in Tennessee, the access of which are subject to Tennessee law.

2. I intend to request that my son be made aware of my desire to obtain information about him from those adoption records, pursuant to T.C.A. § 36-1-101 et seq.

3. I have always felt hurt over the loss of my son, and have searched for many years to find him. In addition to my desire to find my son because of these feelings of loss, I have important medical reasons for wanting to find him. My family has a strong history of congenital glaucoma, which can develop in the mid 20's or early 30's, causing blindness if not treated early. My father was legally blind by the age of 40 because he did not get treatment for this condition. Though for both my brother and me, it set in at the age of 25, because we did have treatment, the condition is medically controlled.

4. In addition to glaucoma, several of my family members have had various types of cancer. My sister died of gastric cancer at the age of 35, and my understanding is that this is a genetic condition. My family also has a history of malignant melanoma, or skin cancer, and ovarian cancer.

5. I have been afflicted with an inflammatory bowel disease, or Crohne's Disease, for the last 25 years.

6. I feel it is vital to find my son and share this medical information with him so that he can possibly avoid the development of these conditions in himself and any children he may have. Because of the seriousness of these conditions, it is extremely important that I find my son as soon as possible. Otherwise, he could be living with a disease of which he is not aware, or could develop such a disease, and thus, would not be seeking treatment of taking preventative measures.

7. I believe that, because this particular medical history in my family, any delay in the enforcement of T.C.A. § 36-1-101 et seq. could cause irreparable harm to my son. If I were given access to his adoption records, I would immediately inform him of these health risks unique to my family.

_________________________________ JANICE AKERS

 

Sworn to and subscribed before me this _____ day of July, 1996.

________________________________________

Notary Public

My Commission Expires:

______________________