BOSTON -- Maine State Sen. Paula Benoit had a very personal interest when she sponsored a state bill allowing all adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates. Benoit is adopted.

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that Benoit said she never imagined that in researching her own biological roots, she'd discover two of her fellow legislators were nephews.

"The shock of that took a while to get over, but it still didn't give me my birth certificate," said Benoit. "The issue is a civil rights issue. Every American is entitled to know their original identity."

Benoit will have to wait another year to get her original birth certificate because the law in Maine does not take effect until 2009.

In Massachusetts, a similar law goes into effect this January. But Team 5 Investigates found a lot of adoptees will be left out.

That's because on July 17, 1974, adoption records in Massachusetts were sealed. The new law will make birth certificates available again to people born before the records were sealed and to those involved in new cases starting in January 2008.

The problem, some say, is that 34-year gap in between.

"I think that's a shame," said Benoit. "I think Massachusetts lawmakers missed the boat on that, and it's very sad."

Adam Pertman runs the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in Newton.

"It doesn't seem fair, born an hour too late or early don't get the same rights," he said.

Pertman said "sandwich" laws like this one are an unfair compromise based on myths about the need to protect adoptive families and the privacy of birth mothers. The institute's new report examines how states with open records are doing.

"We discovered that most birth mothers don't want the protection these laws afford them," Pertman said.

Cindy McGuigan gave her son up for adoption when she was 18. Her husband is the birth father. She said she always wanted her child to know who and where they were. But the new Massachusetts law excludes their son, born in 1983, from obtaining his birth certificate.

"It's very difficult for birth mothers, adoptees. What's the missing piece? What could go wrong? You don't have medical history," she said.

State legislators say the compromise helps adoptive families and birth parents who expected anonymity. Benoit said all adoptees deserve to know the truth.

"I am very grateful for the parents who adopted me, but at the same time I have always wondered who I am," Benoit said.

The McGuigans, who have three daughters, finally met their son, years after being contacted by his adoptive family about medical problems. Now 24, he has chosen not to maintain contact. But Cindy is thankful to know he's alive and well.

"In a matter of minutes, I signed away my son," she said. "He's my child, he was my blood. He may never feel I'm his mother, but in my heart he will always be my son."