avatarJennifer Dunne

Summary

The author is struggling to obtain a long-form birth certificate from the state of New York despite having other proofs of birth and is facing difficulties due to potential changes in hospital records over 50 years.

Abstract

The author of the web content is recounting a personal ordeal with the state of New York's vital records system. Despite possessing a short-form birth certificate, a hospital baptismal certificate, and a duplicate from diocese records, the state is unable to locate or provide a long-form version of the author's birth certificate. This situation has led to a bureaucratic impasse where the author, who has clear evidence of birth, is unable to prove their birth to the state due to the potential disappearance of the original hospital records, possibly because of hospital mergers and acquisitions over the past five decades. The author is left with a sense of existential uncertainty, questioning how one can prove their existence in the face of missing official documentation.

Opinions

  • The author implies a sense of absurdity in the situation, as they have multiple documents supporting their birth, yet the state's inability to find the original birth certificate calls their official existence into question.
  • There is a hint of frustration towards the bureaucratic system that seems to be failing the author despite the evidence they have presented.
  • The author seems to reflect on the passage of time and the changes in institutional records, suggesting that the evolution of healthcare institutions (like hospital mergers) can have unforeseen personal consequences.
  • The author expresses a profound personal impact, describing the feeling of being unable to prove one's birth as "very strange" and disconcerting.

I Was Born, Wasn’t I?

Not according to Vital Records

Photo: Colin Maynard on Unsplash

I recently applied to the state of New York to get a long-form version of my birth certificate. You wouldn’t think this would be a problem.

I have the short form version. I have my baptismal certificate from the hospital. I have a duplicate copy of my baptismal certificate from the diocese records.

So clearly, I was born. They knew when. They knew where.

But they’re unable to find the certificate. They asked if I knew which hospital I was born in because it might be in their records.

It was over 50 years ago. I’m not sure that hospital even exists anymore, given the recent mergers and acquisitions among the hospitals in my hometown.

So where does that leave me? Unable to prove I was born.

It’s a very strange feeling.

Short Form
Family
Birth
Bureaucracy
Records Management
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