COLUMBIA--The adoptive parents of a boy with physical ailments and mental problems should be able to see some of his confidential adoption records, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

In a decision Monday, the justices said the parents, identified only as John and Jane Doe in court documents, should be able to see the records after a third party reviews them to take out anything that would identify the child's birth parents or other relatives.

State law says adoption records are to be kept private unless good cause is given to open them.

James Fletcher Thompson, an attorney for the parents, said Monday that he was pleased with the court's decision but warned it only will open adoption documents under very specific circumstances.

"This is not an invitation for adoptees or any other party to the adoption to open the adoption records," he said. "We are still considered a very conservative state."

In this case, the parents said they need the records to determine whether the medical history of their child's biological family might shed light on his problems.

The boy, adopted in Spartanburg County in December 1983, has suffered physical ailments, such as a cyst on his brain, that persist.

The child also suffered mental problems, including threatening his adoptive mother with a knife and hurting himself on purpose, according to court records.

The parents asked a Family Court judge to let them see their son's records and included letters from several of the child's doctors, but both the Family Court and the state Court of Appeals refused.

In overturning those rulings, the Supreme Court said a third party should be appointed to go over records and interview the child's biological relatives if necessary to find out about his medical history.

Any information identifying the biological family would not be included, according to the ruling.

The justices said the Family Court judge should then review the report before giving it to the adoptive parents.