A new state law has gone into effect today that could change the lives of people who have been adopted.

Starting today, New Yorkers who are 18 years old and older, and who were adopted, will be allowed to receive a copy of their original birth certificate.

Advocates have spent decades fighting for the change. They say adoptees have a right to information about their birth, family histories, and medical backgrounds."Every person has the right to know where they come from, and this new law grants all New Yorkers the same unrestricted rights to their original birth records," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "After years of being denied this basic human right, adoptees will finally be able to obtain critical information about their origins, family histories and medical backgrounds."

Critics of the law have raised privacy concerns.

For more information, visit: https://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/obtaining_birth_certificate.htm.