[Brown Deer]

Also birth certificates are covered under privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Really? Please explain why so many birth certificates are available online to the public.

[centurion316]

It could be that all online birth certificates belong to dead people. That has certainly been my experience and I have accessed a large number of online birth certificates. Could you point me to an online resource that contains the birth certificates of living people?

[jamese777]

Really? Please explain why so many birth certificates are available online to the public.

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Because anyone can give up their own right to privacy but a government agency cannot take that step for you without your permission.
You might want to note that not one single RECENTLY ISSUED (since 2001) copy of a Hawaii LONG FORM Certification of Live Birth has been posted on the internet. NOT ONE.
HIPAA was passed by Congress in 1996 and it went into effect in 2003.
“Learn about HIPAA and Public Records:”
http://publicrecordsguide.com/hipaa.html
Imagine the pressure it would put on Obama if scores, hundreds or even thousands of people started posting their own long form birth certificates on the web, just to embarrass him into ordering his and releasing it.
It hasn’t happened.
However Obama’s original birth certificate can be released without his permission, under a subpoena.