When a new mother puts her baby up for adoption, most people believe that she is the only one who has a say in what happens to her baby – however, the fact is that the birth father also has a role to play. Hopefully in most cases, the birth mother and birth father will agree that adoption is the best choice, but there are situations, such as the recent one of Preston King in California, where birth fathers do not agree with or are unaware of adoption plans, which can lead to bitter fights in court. In King’s case, he claimed that his child was given away for adoption without his consent, and that he took steps to ensure that he could support the child when he became aware that he was going to become a father. When the case went to court, the judge ruled that he was not the presumed father because he was not married to the mother – a decision that King is now appealing.
So, exactly what rights do birth fathers have? The truth is that birth father rights in adoptions vary from state to state. In most cases, however, when a birth mother decides to put her child up for adoption, she has three different routes that she can take when it comes to paternity. First, she can name the father and ask him to sign the adoption papers. Second, she can name the father but say that she has no idea where he is – in which case, attorneys have to search for the father and give the opportunity to object to the adoption. Third, she can say she does not know who the birth father is.
Many birth mothers choose the third option. Even if a birth mother does know who the father is, this can be an attractive option, since the father must then prove that the child is his. This can be an expensive process involving legal representation and DNA tests – making it less likely that the father will take action. Some states also maintain a Putative Father Registry, where the putative father must register and agree to take financial responsibility for the child before he can object to the adoption. This also gives him the right to receive notice of adoption proceedings, or of any moves to terminate his parental rights.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that a putative father has a constitutional right to have his parental rights protected, provided that he has established a substantial relationship with his child. Under the ruling, a substantial relationship exists if it can be proved that the man is the biological father and has committed to the responsibilities of parenthood by taking part in the child’s upbringing.
However, this has left some key questions unanswered. Specifically, when a newborn baby is put up for adoption, it is possible to prove paternity through a DNA test. On the other hand, the father has not had the opportunity to participate in the child’s upbringing – and therefore has not established a substantial relationship with them. At present, the Supreme Court has not made any ruling on what a father must do to protect his parental rights in this case. This is one of the major reasons why there is so much variability in birth father rights across states.