This is completely hypothetical for me, and I’m curious about laws in different states and countries.
I recently found this Wikipedia article about Baby Hatches—places where women can anonymously give up babies to be cared for, usually in hospitals. I know that in the past I’ve heard about laws that protect women who do so from legal repercussions. I’m assuming that most laws allow fathers to do the same (and I’d be interested to hear of any that don’t), but that it’s usually young single mothers who are protected by them.
What I’m wondering is, if one parent does so, does the other have any recourse? If (s)he wanted to raise the child himself, can (s)he find the baby? Can the parent who abandoned the baby be compelled to say where/how?
In the case of the California law (warning, pdf), it appears that either parent may drop off the child, and that the child can be reclaimed by bringing back the identifying bracelet. But the other parent wouldn’t necessarily have that bracelet.
I realize that issues of fathers’ rights can be controversial, but I’m really just looking for factual answers about what the law allows, here.
My guess (if this was IMHO) would be that a father finding his child missing could provide DNA evidence that a relinquished child was his.
StG
Baby drop-offs are the lesser of two evils. The idea behind them is that the babies droped off at places like ERs or police stations would otherwise be left in dumpsters to die.
I realize that. I’m not against the idea, either. I’m just curious about the logistics.
In Germany baby hatches have existed for years but they are legally problematic. They use a loophole that allows parents to entrust their children to others for up to eight weeks. This means that according to a benevolent interpretation of the law no crime is commited at the moment when the baby is dropped off. That only happens eight weeks later when the parents don’t reclaim the baby. Technically the authorities have to try find the parents but of course the whole process is set up in such a way that they have little expectation of success. On the other hand this means that during the first eight weeks the mother or her husband could claim the child. An extramarital father who isn’t confirmed by the mother would have to be recognized by a court. Then he still wouldn’t get custody automatically but at least he could apply for custody and veto a possible adoption.
After the eight weeks are up the state takes custody of the child. Eventually the child is given up for adoption but only after additional measures where taken to find the parents. If the parents can’t be found for at least three months the child can be adopted legally and the parents who abandoned it lose all their rights. There are certain conditions under which a parent who did not consent to an adoption without any fault on their part can challenge adoptions during the first three years. Originally unsuspecting fathers might qualify, but honestly I don’t know any details.