Twelve fathers have filed suit in federal court in Utah seeking abolition of the current law that allows mothers to put their babies up for adoption without the consent of the biological father, and sometimes without even knowledge. This civil rights lawsuit claims that Utah’s Adoption Act has resulted in essentially legalized kidnapping and fraud.
The attorney for the men, Wes Hutchins, stated that he is pro-adoption and actually served as president of the Utah Adoption Counsel and currently holds the office of president of the Utah Council for Ethical Adoption Practices. He feels, however, adoption must be done legally, ethically, and constitutionally. Above all, it must be done with the knowledge and express consent of both biological parents.
Some of the men involved in the suit shared their emotional stories with the public. Nikolas Thurnwald was excited to be a father to and anxiously awaited the birth of his son with his live-in girlfriend. The couple was together up until a couple days before the birth. Thurnwald called his former girlfriend to see if she wanted to get together with him, and a co-worker informed him she was in labor. When he reached his girlfriend in the hospital, she told him she was giving the child up for adoption.
Thurnwald drove immediately to the hospital, and was told he had to leave before the police were called. He spent the next 10 years and over $30,000 in legal fees attempting to gain custody of his child, but ultimately lost his bid for custody.
Utah has arguably the least protective adoption laws for biological fathers. Under the law, a child under the age of six months can be adopted without notice to or the legal consent of the unmarried biological father. If successful, this Utah lawsuit could result in serious reconsideration of the state’s adoption and paternal rights laws.
The outcome of the Utah suit could also lead to changes in Kansas’ laws concerning father’s rights and adoption. In Kansas, the laws concerning father’s rights are as follows:
- The putative father, or the man who is alleged to be or claims to be the father but whose legal relationship has not yet been determined, does NOT have to be notified of the birth
- The father’s parental rights must be terminated before the child can be given up for adoption
- The father is to be notified via certified mail, personal service, or any other manner as the court may direct, of the intent to terminate his parental rights
- If the mother does not know who the biological father is or refuses to provide his name, the court will make efforts to identity him. Notice will be given to any possible father. If the court cannot identify the father, an attorney will be appointed to represent him and service will be made on the last known area of address.
Kansas’ adoption laws suffer from a similar defect to those in Utah in that the biological or presumed father does not have to be notified of the birth. Though notice is required before the child can be placed for adoption, often, at this point, the father faces an uphill battle to preserve his parental rights when he frequently is just learning of the birth. The father will not be able to present evidence of contributing to the household or the mother during the pregnancy, which the court often looks to in termination of parental rights cases.
Further, as in Utah, there is a real concern that mothers may simply withhold the name of the father to allow the child be placed for adoption. Though Kansas requires notification of the potential fathers, without some evidence to go off, it becomes near impossible to notify these men.
A challenge to the notice provision of Kansas’ current parental rights and adoption laws could result in real change in the state, allowing fathers the opportunity to become a part of the child’s life early on, and therefore placing them in the best possible position to challenge any attempts to terminate parental rights and place a child up for adoption.
If you are a father concerned about your rights to your child, the experienced adoption and family law attorneys at McDowell Chartered can help. We have decades of experience representing the interests of fathers who desire to obtain custody of their children. Call us today at (316) 633-4322 for an initial consultation.