Are you currently living in Louisiana and having an unplanned pregnancy? If so, you’re likely already considering your options: parenting, adoption, and abortion. If you’re considering adoption in Louisiana, you may also wonder what rights the father of the child has.
There are usually three kinds of birth fathers for expectant mothers who are considering adoption:
- Birth fathers who support adoption
- Birth fathers who don’t support adoption.
- Birth fathers who are unknown
If you’re considering adoption and want to know more about birth father’s rights after adoption in Louisiana, then you should get more information from an adoption specialist or adoption attorney.
People become pregnant under all sorts of circumstances. Some mothers considering adoption are in a loving relationship with the father, but some mothers may not have a relationship with the father, nor think that they should be beholden to parenthood with them. Whether or not you know or are in a relationship with the father of your child, it’s still important to consider what role fathers have in adoption.
Supportive Birth Fathers
Birth fathers may be supportive of your decision to put your child up for adoption, and if so, then the process becomes a little easier to navigate. A supportive birth father could be your husband, your boyfriend, or someone who is uninvolved in your life and your pregnancy. What defines a supportive birth father is that they support your decision to place your child up for adoption.
Legally speaking, having a supportive birth father—regardless of whether or not they are your husband or partner—makes adoption easier to navigate than having an unsupportive birth father. That being said, even if the father does not support adoption, adoption is still possible.
Unsupportive Birth Fathers
If the birth father is unsupportive of your decision to put your child up for adoption, then you might wonder what rights the birth father has after adoption. An unsupportive birth father is a birth father who does not support your decision to place your child up for adoption. An unsupportive birth father doesn’t understand or agree with what’s best for you or your child. Because there is a conflict between your wishes and his wishes, you may wonder what rights he has to prevent you from pursuing adoption.
Unfortunately, the rights of birth fathers in adoption are a complex and changing legal matter. If the father of your child doesn’t agree with your choice of adoption, then reaching out to an adoption specialist is your best option to receive reliable and up-to-date information. Certain factors, such as the ability of the birth father to financially provide for you and your child, may determine what rights a birth father has in adoption. Even if the birth father does not support your decision, adoption may still be an option for you.
Other Roles of Fathers
Some fathers may be in and out of the birth mother’s life for various reasons: the relationship could be rocky, the father could be away for a number of reasons, or the father may even be unknown. In all cases, if the father is supportive of the adoption, then it’s easy to proceed forward with the adoption as you normally would. Meaning that you should proceed by:
- Reaching out to an adoption specialist
- Develop an adoption and hospital plan
- Select your type of adoption, select an adoptive family
- And plan for life after the birth
Conversely, if the biological father is unsupportive of your choice of adoption, then you should:
- Reach out to an adoption specialist
- Discuss what kinds of legal support are available to you.
State laws vary, and a legal expert would best advise you under shifting legal circumstances. While you may not want to inform the father of your pregnancy for a variety of reasons—they could be abusive, unsupportive, or you might fear what parenting with them would be like. Because laws can be in flux, it’s always best that you reach out to an adoption specialist to discuss what options are available to you. Adoption, even though the father is unsupportive, may still be an option for you.
