Your legal rights as a father during the pregnancy and birth of your unborn child are stronger under American law if you are married to your child's mother. If you are not married to your child's mother, you must enter a legal process to establish your paternity.
Early American Law
Colonial American law gave married fathers absolute control of their wives. A divorcing father received custody of the child and could prevent the mother from ever seeing the child again. Women who became pregnant out of wedlock were socially disgraced. An illegitimate baby could be taken from its mother after weaning and given to an unrelated family as an apprentice, according to a 1994 book by Dr. Mary Ann Mason, "From Father's Property to Children's Rights." The birth father had no obligation to accept the child into his family.
American Law Today
As the women's movement gained strength in the 19th century, the balance of power shifted. Divorcing women started receiving custody of their children, a process described in "Divorce and Custody," an essay in the "Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society". This shift in societal attitudes has resulted in father's pregnancy rights legal battles in three areas: abortion, custody and adoption.
Abortion
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a married man cannot prevent his wife from having an abortion if she wishes, in a 1976 case, "Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth." Whether you are a married man or a single birth father, your wife or girlfriend is not required to notify you that she is getting an abortion, and she does not have to get your consent to have an abortion.
Unborn Child Custody
As a married man, you can sue for custody of your unborn child, claiming that the mother is unfit due to circumstances such as a criminal lifestyle. As a single birth father, you can also sue for custody, but you must prove that you are the child's father. One example is pro basketball player Dirk Nowitzki, who sued for sole custody of his ex-fiancee's unborn child in 2009 after she was arrested for a variety of crimes. Nowitzki, as an unmarried father, had to file a request with the courts for a DNA paternity test to be performed after the baby's birth. His ex-fiancee eventually turned out not to be pregnant.
Adoption
If you are a married man, your wife cannot put your unborn child up for adoption without your written consent, even if you are separated or divorced. If you are the single birth father of an unborn child and you wish to fight for custody and prevent an adoption, you need to retain a lawyer and follow the steps required in your state to legally establish your parentage of the baby. The federal Child Welfare Information Gateway offers a free PDF download on state laws governing how a single birth father can legally establish his relationship to his child, "The Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers: Summary of State Laws."
References
- Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society: Divorce and Custody
- Biomedical Ethics Reviews: Abortion and Fathers' Rights
- Cornell University Law School: Supreme Court: Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth
- SportsDayDFW: Dirk Nowitzki's former fiancee not pregnant
- Child Welfare Information Gateway: The Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers: Summary of State Laws
