Comments about ‘Ruling offers new hope to unwed dads in Utah’

Thank goodness the state of Utah got it right for once. Dads are trampled on in every way, shape, and form in Utah. It's downright pathetic, considering the demographic here... purported to be all about the family. How embarrassing.

Now, if we can get a lot more of these going and recognizing the vital role and the rights of fathers, maybe we can actually do some good again for the children who deserve the opportunity to be with their fathers.

The courts are getting really dumb now.... WAKE Up ALL YOU JUDGES!!!!!! If the FATHERS are willing to be dads My hats are off to them.
MY daughter who is 18 just found out that she was going to have ya baby... I told her that the father will play a roll in this childs life NO IF NO BUTS.
IT takes two to get the baby here.
This type of judge in this case makes me sick.

My prayers are with the dad here. It takes a real man to step up to home plate.

But I think I would carry it farther and seek custody of his child as well.

I would think the state would do all it could to help this man to get his child. This child in foster care is being payed to care for the child with aid and money. Why would the state be willing to pay someone to care for the child and not help the father prove his rights and not pay foster care parents? This smells like a basket of dead fish.

Hopefully his lawyer will also have the foresight to include non liability for any and all costs the state has wasted and for non liability for child support for the years he has been battling the state. It wouldn't be surprising that if the state loses and the father wins his case that the child welfare services will start garnishing his income for non payment of previous child support.

This state, Utah, is criminal in how it treats fathers. It's a witch hunt organization of criminal minds with no other cause but to steal a substantial share of child support from the children of all paying fathers.

Good luck to Daniel and his family as they move forward. I hope he is able to be a supportive and loving part of his child's life. Special commendation to him for not wanting to upset his child's life further, but rather seeking to enrich it.

Why do people become dads or moms for that matter if they are not married in the first place. That is wrong regardless of age.

Though many single and divorced moms brainwash there kids about what a snot there dad is. Why did they marry or become parents with them in the first place? Didn't see any bad in them then.

Well--glad the Supreme Court of Utah has a brain! Seriously--what a way to reinforce that non-married fathers be completely irresponsible, lower courts of UT. SERIOUSLY!!!! And UT wonders why they have such problems with unwed mothers? Maybe if it was highly reinforced that the "sperm" producer not only has rights, but RESPONSIBILITIES, the men in the state might actually live up to those responsibilities!!!! Especially since this dad just wants his BASIC rights as a birth parent! Sheesh!!!!

to marry the mother of your child, what kind of father are you going to be? I think quite often the unmarried father is seeking aprnetal rights as a way to control the mother, who is trying to get away from him. There are always exceptions, but as a general rule, this is a bad idea.

now i can finally get some vindication, I am the dad to my children and they don't need anyone else to play that role. The ones who judge so cruelly and question should look really good at them selves. They aren't invited to any weddings , funerals or emergencies yet they want to stand and judge me. I have raised champions right amongst the righteous and I put my kids character against the best because they are the best. Let the lord judge me as a parent because I don't have not felons in my brood such as the ones judging me!

What's best for the child? The father was incarcerated at the time of birth. What life style will this child be brought into? Sorry to pass judgement, but this appears to be a very disfucntional family! Looks like the best option is to have a loving couple adopt, and provide a home life with a Mother and a Father.

To anonymous: There are obviously a few self-righteous people posting here. I congratulate them for living a their own perfect world. Not all divorced men are dead beats. I am a former LDS Bishop, I take the church very seriously aqnd have always worked hard, often 2 jobs, to support my family, but that did not stop my ex from having 3 affairs and literally stealing my 5 kids from me. I am not perfect, but the picture my ex has painted to my kids is of a different man. She has convinced them that the divorce was all my fault. The fact that I am not there to counter her lies and misleading statements fuels her antics.

To "If you don't bother:" People make mistakes. The last thing they need to do in a situation like that is make another one. Not everyone should get married. This couple obviously had some growing to to do...both of them. The father is trying to take his responsibility after the mother abandoned hers. Give him that chance.

I just think it is wrong that the court would give this dad the run around for 2 years. Those two years are so formative for this child and this should happen in the first weeks of this childs life. What if he wanted custody? What then? Ruin this childs life and the life of those people who love him/her? Shame on the courts. This problem should be fixed immediately. This child could have been raised by a loving family of grandparents and a father who wanted him/her. The courts favored the foster system. SHAME ON THE COURT!

This is great news. For Utah or any state. Too many moms feel that they are the only decision makers in a childs life. The only presence they want from the fathers either unwed or divorced is financial. It is true it takes two to make a baby and two to raise one. Great step forward, I hope other states follow.

Do yo believe in repentence? Mormons talk the talk but they often fail to walk the walk. This guy did his time. Ok so he made mistakes, does that disqualify him from being a good dad after the fact? I could list several reasons why I think adoption is not the best option. I've dealt with far too many disfunctional adopted people to think there can't be something better. This is thi sman's child and he has the same parental rights as you do even though he hasn't always lived up to your standards of perfection.

There needs to be finality. Give a set time to respond and if they don't tough.

Reversals are devastating to families formed by adoption. Those AP's are taking great risk accepting a child into their family on the condition they will love and care for them as if they gave birth to yet need to hand back to a bio parent when reversals happen or corners are cut. A bio parent has 9 months plus to realize I could have gotten someone pregnant and keep tabs with the girlfriend/one night stand they may hardly remember. So I don't have sympathy when I hear a dad didn't know she was pregnant when there are notifications in the paper and they missed the deadline.

Are we going to put nurseries in male prisons now? Would a dad in jail get partial custody meaning the child spends weekends in the jail nursery unit with dad, the week with mom on the outside? Are we nuts?

that the "dad" was INCARCERATED at the time of his child's birth? What does that say about his "rights" as a father? First he impregnates a woman and then he's in jail on the day that child is born. Pathetic. And then the "mother" lives a life that puts that child in foster care. NEITHER OF THEM should have any "rights" as far as this child is concerned. This child is far better off in foster care than with either of them. My hopes are for the CHILD to have RIGHTS in this and any other state, that the welfare of the child come before all the egoes and supposed claims of supposed "parents." Creating life doesn't automatically make someone a mom or a dad. It SHOULD make them responsible though.

It is stupid that he had to spend $100,000 so he could get updates on his son. Why is the state wasting everyone's time & money? The lawyers are all driving new cars thanks to this debacle. It is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.

Mistakes happen in life BY ALL OF US. Some of the worst of the worst are the Mormon or LDS wolves in sheeps clothing. There are as many good and upstanding citizens out of the LDS Church as there possibly are in it. Of a religion that preaches and teaches not to judge another as Christ is the only judge, there are more who DO judge unrighteously. This is a church that supposedly helps to better people to become more like Christ, not those who want to take His place and judge for Him. So, for those who HAVE NOT walked in this mans shoes, please just be quiet and let things take their course. People should be able to repent and make things better without YOUR permission. For all of those LDS members who are humble enough to love and not judge others, I can only say thank you as you are the true membership of what the LDS church stands for. And remember it IS a volunteer church, no one HAS to do what others expect, just what Christ expects. Good luck to all who wish to change & be loved by kind hearted people that don't judge.

GREAT NEWS!!!

I have a son that was born Feb. 2007 and I am not on the birth certificate but I would like to be . she gave my son her last husbands last name. I had a DNA test and it was positive that he is my son. The Commissioner granted her $1500.00 a month child support, and I have only seen my son 1 time.

let's face it. If the sperm donor and egg provider don't want to be married when they find out they are having a baby, then the best for the baby is usually adoption.

It allows the youth to get on with their lives and past their mistake. It allows the baby to be adopted by a family that often can't have their own children and that can provide a loving nuturing environment.

The only person that matters is the child. Doing best is sometimes hard for the people involved. My birth father gave me up for adoption when I was 13 and I'm forever grateful. He had abandoned me at 10. I think he lost his rights when he did this. The people who have the child now should be allowed to keep and adopt the baby. I don't have a problem with the father getting letters, etc,... One reason my husband and I didn't adopt was that I was terrified someone would change their mind and take away my baby. Six months is more than enough time to claim your rights. After that, too bad. You should keep better track of where you leave your DNA.