Child Rights/Parent Rights

[Utah]

Hello Everyone,

There is a case playing out in Florida right now where a child is being returned to his birthmother and father after 3.5 years. What do you think?

Here are the basic facts:
1) Bio mother planned for an adoption before the bio father knew the mother was pregnant
2) The baby was placed with the prospective adoptive parents immediately after the birth
3) Shortly after, the father fought for his rights and the p. adoptive parents fought back
4) Judge shortly determined that the father didnt give up his rights and within a year the adoptive family was denied the adoption
5) The adoptive family went into an appeals/delay tactic and they were named temporary gaurdians until the appeals were exhausted
6) After 3.5 years the child was ordered to be returned to the bio parents.
7) Side note: The bio father had a domestic charge against the bio mother very early in the pregnancy before he knew she was pregnant. There has never been a finding of unfitness on the father's part.

There is a lot of outrage that the child is being treated as property and that he should remain with his guardians. They say the child's rights outweigh the bioparent rights. Many are arguing that the bio parents should walk away.

What do you think? Should the child be returned to the bio parents? How does the child's rights play into this?

[elwoodblues]

From the way you describe the facts, it sounds like the bio-dad did everything he was supposed to do to secure his paternal rights. It sounds like naming the adoptive parents as temporary guardians was a mistake.

[EarlCat]

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From the way you describe the facts, it sounds like the bio-dad did everything he was supposed to do to secure his paternal rights. It sounds like naming the adoptive parents as temporary guardians was a mistake.

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I think you're right. Actually, I'd go further and say that giving the child to the adoptive parents without the consent of the bio father in the first place was the bigger mistake. Cases like this are tough, because the adoptive parents are the only parents the child has known, and now he's being handed over to a "stranger."

I'd be interested to hear the moral arguments on either side.

[Utah]

Yes. Pretty much everyone agrees to that. The question is what is the proper action now to undo the mess the court made - A) Leave him with the guardians and terminate the father's and mother's rights or B) Return the boy to the bio parents

[El Barto]

The prospective adoptive parents and their lawyers should be charged with child abuse. Any mental anguish the kid suffers is due to their inappropriate gaming of the legal system.

If the biological parents were to die in an accident tonight, the child should still be taken away from the clearly unfit guardians, who should also pay legal costs resulting from their manipulation.


The best interests of the kid is to be parted from the unfit guardians. Case closed.

[Boris]

Presumably the bio father knew of the pregnancy before the birth. It sounds very strange to me that he would fight for custody after the adoption took place. He should walk away.

[elwoodblues]

There's probably a lot more to this story that people might view as relevant (in terms of what should morally be done.) For example, the first paragraph of the original post says:

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Florida right now where a child is being returned to his birthmother and father after 3.5 years

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I would suspect he real story goes something like this: Birth mother got pregnant by birth father. They fought all the time and broke up shortly before the birth. Mother gives baby up for adoption. Shortly thereafter birth mother and birth father make amends and now want their baby back.

The birth mother sounds like a piece of work here (again, I don't know the facts, but that's is what is suggested to me.)

[Utah]

Here are some more facts. The mother and father had broken up way before he knew she was pregnant. The father only found out when they tried to serve him right before the birth. He immediately made it clear that he wanted his child. However, the baby was placed with the prospective aparents immediately (why I dont know).

The mother, when it looked like the birthfather was going to win, changed course and sued for custody as well (I believe within the last few months). The mother and father are not together and she has remarried. The child was turned over to the mother (with very liberal visitation for the father) until an Illinois court can figure out the custody between the mother and father.

[bholdr]

what a mess...
I think that the biological father obviously has precedence over the adoptive parents, not only in a legal sense, either. it sounds to me like the mother was simply doing everything in her power to keep the father from obtaining custody.
It does bother me when children are treated like property, however. at the 3 1/2 year mark, for the psychological health of the child, i think the father should've thought about leaving the child with the adoptive parents, but i've never had a kid, so who knows how I'd feel in that situation. this has got to be screwing this kid up... what a shame.

The adoptive parents seem to be the only ones concerned with the child's welfare.

[EarlCat]

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The prospective adoptive parents and their lawyers should be charged with child abuse. Any mental anguish the kid suffers is due to their inappropriate gaming of the legal system.

If the biological parents were to die in an accident tonight, the child should still be taken away from the clearly unfit guardians, who should also pay legal costs resulting from their manipulation.

The best interests of the kid is to be parted from the unfit guardians. Case closed.

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Where did you get the idea that the adoptive parents are unfit? From what I could tell, they are as much victims of the system here as the child. I mean, they applied for an adoption and the state gave them a child who they began raising as their own like any other adoptive parents would do.

Sounds to me like the state is unfit, but I could have told you that before this ever happened.