Can Adoptions Be Undone?

By SOPHFRONIA SCOTT GREGORY

Jessica's fate has stirred up a lot of nervousness. "We're getting calls from ! parents whose adoptions were in place a long time ago," says Susan Freivalds, executive director of Adoptive Families of America, a support group based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They say they've always "felt kind of funny" about their paperwork. Was the birth mother lying when she said she couldn't locate the father? Why did she refuse to name him? "This is a frightening issue for adoptive parents," says Freivalds. "How can you be sure you've done everything right?"

The surprising wrinkle in the DeBoer-Schmidt case is that it turns more on a father's willingness to relinquish his child than a mother's. Dan Schmidt's quest has raised issues that to date remain largely unresolved. The first question adoption agencies ask birth mothers is whether the baby's father will consent to giving up the child. If the mother doesn't know, some agencies will refuse the case in order to avoid possible court battles. Private adoptions such as the DeBoers' are less strict. More of these may be in jeopardy, says Mary Beth Seader, vice president of the National Council for Adoption in Washington, if putative fathers return at some point to challenge the adoptions.

Still, in most of these cases, fathers are unlikely to claim their biological offspring. Many do not know that they have children; others would refuse to admit paternity. The ability of biological parents to win custody also varies from state to state. Some states allow a parent up to two years to return and claim either fraud or duress in order to win back a child. In Iowa, where the Schmidts live, court rulings allow the father to "come back at any point in the child's life," says Seader. In New York State, however, the court of appeals ruled unanimously in 1992 against a man who tried to claim an 18-month-old boy he had not known he fathered -- and who had been given up for adoption.

The conflicting local rulings and legislation have prompted many adoption agencies and advocates to press Jessica's case on the Supreme Court. "We need some clear guidance," says Seader. Until then, the murkiness that surrounds a biological father's rights will continue to complicate lives. Women whose children have been turned down for adoption because they lacked the father's approval have called Seader in tears, saying "Why should he be able to destroy my life and this baby's life when as soon as I told him I was pregnant he was out the door?"

With reporting by Ratu Kamlani/New York and James Willwerth/Los Angeles