Putative Father Registries are a topic that seems to be popping up everywhere in the news. Sometimes the issues of these registries arises and lawsuits are centered around whether a father signed up timely or not.

In a case in Florida it appears that at the time a father's paternity case was being held in one court, another court was terminating his rights because he did file soon enough with a putative registry. Hearings on this case just concluded in the Florida Supreme Court and the father won this battle at least. The comment below was made by one of the justices in this current case.

Justice Harry Lee Anstead asked if that meant an unmarried man who has sex with a woman should skip "smoking the classic cigarette" and instead immediately tell the Health Department: "I want the state to know that I've just had sexual intercourse."

These registries appear to have sprung up to make adoptions easier and less problematic. Some fathers upon discovering that the mothers of their children were making adoption plans have stepped in and said that they wanted to parent. Apparently, in states with putative father registries, they must declare themselves fathers to have any legal status.

Fathers raising their children? Some fathers do resist the idea that their children should be raised by strangers, and are willing, eager and capable of raising their children. I am hard pressed to say that fathers who want to raise their children if a mother does not should not be allowed to do so. So, why do we make it so hard for them? Why should adoptive parents be favored to parent a child over its own biological father when and if the first mothers is unable or unwilling to parent?

Further Reading:

Birthfathers

Putative Fathers - Statutes at a Glance.

National Directory of Putative Father Registries

Putative Father Registry

Adoptions Involving Putative Fathers

Trends and Pitfalls in Adoption

Photo by Jan Baker 2007