The New York Senate has approved a measure that would unseal the birth certificates of adopted people.

Lorraine Dusky, of Sag Harbor, says the Adopted Adults Birth Certificate Rights bill would mean the state no longer holds hostage the identity of adopted people.

Since the 1970s, Dusky has been petitioning lawmakers in Albany and writing articles and books about what she calls an archaic law that commits identity theft and does not allow adopted adults the right to know who they are and from where they came.

MORE: NY adoptees seek access to original birth certificates 

Dusky spent years searching for the daughter she gave up when she became pregnant out of wedlock at age 21. Dusky eventually paid someone to find her daughter, Jane.

The bill now goes to the state Assembly for a vote, but that must happen before the legislative session ends June 19.