Reader comments
Judge rules birth father should have temporary primary custody

So the judge in this case is the same as the bio father...a COWARD. It takes guts to do what is right. This judge apparently has none!

Does anyone know of somewhere to make or mail comments directly to him (the judge) so he knows how the rest of us feel?

Who is looking out for the best interest's of this child? It is obviously not the birth father, if he was, he wouldn't want to be putting this child in a disfunctional enviroment. The birth mother has stated that she wants this child in the adoptive home. She gets it!

How is it that our system is so messed up that a judge would rule against the BEST situation for the child. Who has he bonded with? Who does he know? Who loves him more than anything?

Our judicial system needs some help. What a shame!!!

IT is too bad there was not the foresight for the Birth mother to come to Utah to have the baby. There would not have been the fiasco and upheaval. Some judges don't use common sense and may be prejudiced. Too bad for the innocent child. Best wishes to all involved and resolution. Temporary is not forever and the judge may just be testing the waters. Who cares, what is right for this child appears to have been ignored. Maybe the judge thought a short time with the birth father is better than none and couldn't rule it another way. The wisdom of Solomon is much needed.
What is to be, is to be. I would not give up on the outside chance that little one will end up where he really belongs. Let's hope.

Congrats, dad. This is a good day.

I hope the biological-father is ready to take care of this boy and raise him better than he was. From his record so far I doubt his maturity. I feel sorry for the kid.

Annonymous,don't be so quick to judge, you don;t know the whole story. You have no clue as to circumstances leading up to the Judge's decision. CHILL OUT.

A single teenage father who could care less about the kid until a little while ago is the best place for this child? No job, a criminal record. I see, that's a good place? Not a stable 2 parent family? I'll kiss my 7 tonight, and thank my Heavely Father for not allowing our family to go through that trauma.

I am very upset with the decision the judge and the birth father has made in this case. You don't give up a child or even a baby for adoption and then 5 1/2 months later say that you want the baby back when the birth father has had no contact the last part of the birth mother's pregnancy. I hope who ever reads this can tell the judge that he has made the wrong decision and that that baby should remain with his adopted parents who love him. I hope that the appeal that the church is going to do passes. I guess when you get the big bucks, you can do what ever you want to and get away with it.

So now the father can get welfare thanks a lot to that judge and Idaho. One more dime why didn't he think of father hood before he did what he did to bring that child into the world. Another lost soul. Let me know how much it is going to cost me as the tax payer to cloth and feed this child over the next 18 years.

You'd think adoption agencies would catch on after all the fiascos that have resulted from failure to notify birthfathers in a timely manner. And agencies which make a practice of crossing state lines should certainly know better. The idea of "putative father registries" may seem like a fair concept to some, but in reality it has proven disastrous. Why not notify the father when the mother first expresses her intention to release for adoption so he can have some input? It takes two to tango, after all, unless there was rape or incest involved. You can be sure he'd be notified pronto if the mother opted to parent her child and sought child support! So is he a father or isn't he? If he isn't, he should be totally exempt from ever paying child support. And if he IS a father, then he needs to included in decision-making. It is in cheating fathers out of this role that agencies have created these hell-on-earth situations for adoptive parents. Why should they - and the child - be made to suffer because the adoption agency tried to leave the father out of the loop?

What a disappointing decision. The birth father needs to grow up and think about what is best for the child. If he had Harvey's best interests at heart, he would leave him with his adoptive family. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why that would be best for everyone involved. It's too bad that the law sides with someone who walked away from their responsiblities and now, too late in my opinion, decides that they want this baby after all. Once a child has been placed in an adoptive home, that is where they should stay. This guy had plenty of time to decide if he wanted to parent the child. He made his decision when he had no contact with the birth mother. The law needs to be changed to protect the children and adoptive parents in these situations. I'm surprised at LDS Family Services. I thought they crossed all their t's and dotted all their i's before placing a child for adoption. If there was any doubt about the birth father, the child should not have been placed in an adoptive home until he had signed off.

I assume we would rather the mother have an abortion huh, that's what alot of young women do when they find themselves is this situation. As far as I know from my experience is there is no longer a welfare system (thanks to welfare reform) so the father will have to work or rely on someone else for support. Also why do you assume a 2 parent family is stable. I've known couples who have adopted and gotten a divorce shortly afterwards. I am a single parent and my children have a stable home.

I'm curious. If the father wants to keep the child and the mother doesn't, then does this reversal of roles place a burden for paying child support upon the mother who doesn't want to be involved with the child?

Does anyone know whether the birth father got notice of the adoption or if he was married to the birth mother when the baby was born?

who's going to pay for this child's mental therapy?

To Jo Anne Swanson... (and others)
You are making a huge assumption in accusing LDS Family Services of not notifying the birth father or getting his signed consent. Having worked with LDSFS in the past, I can tell you that they make every attempt to get the father's signed consent, even in states where not required by law. Signatures notwithstanding, many judges allow the birth parents to change their mind until the adoption is finalized (6 months in Utah). Until finalization, all adoptive parents are on pins and needles, since it is not at all unusual for birth parents to change their minds. It is often one or more of the birth grandparents who step in and say "Oh, he's so cute--you can handle this! We'll all help make it work. Get the baby back!"
The resulting scenario handicaps the birth mother and baby, and dramatically increases the ongoing challenges for both. Grandma and Grandpa can support mother and baby for a couple of years, but then what? No education, no father, low income, baby goes to subsidized daycare.... Makes a tough row to hoe. As has been noted, this judge isn't thinking about the child.

I hope the judge rethinks this adoption and allows the adoptive parents to keep this child. The natural
father is not thinking of what is best for this little boy. Maybe the judge wants this young man to realize that he isn't prepared to be a dad. A few weeks of caring for a baby, could change his thinking.

I sincerely hope this little boy can remain with the only parents he has known.

dirty deeds done dirt cheap...just ask AC/DC or any lawyer...what is this 20 year old irresponsible father going to do for this child??? nothing. his parents will end up taking care of the child only to see the child never amount to anything statistically speaking. very sad abuse of our Heavenly Father's procreative power by this young man. and now he want to compound the problem.

LDS Social Services deals with thousands of adoptions daily! I have personally seen where they had to have TWO fathers sign release forms to make the adoption so that this very thing would NEVER be an issue in the future, one in Hawaii and one in New Mexico so state lines were NOT an issue. I cannot even understand how this happened? (it was a situation where the mother got pregnant while the father was serving in the military...talk about red tape!!) I suppose there is a lawyer and a judge who can be bought at any price! I pray for the couple who are having a baby torn from their arms especially at this time of the year. My thoughts are that there is a mother behind the biological father who wants the baby...there usually is more to the story than meets the eye (or the press)

oh my goodness... abortion is a terrible thing. its basicly killing a person so basicly its murder... i mean i understand that someone may not want or cant support the child but me personally i would try and give my child to a foster home if i couldnt take care of him/her. the mom is defentally in her right mind. i hope the father realizes whathe is doing. The childs perents are Teenagers they most likely dont have a very sapporting job. this judge isnt looking at the facts.