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ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT
Barry Chambers Jennifer Hubartt Office of General Counsel Marion County Office Department of Child Services Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
Steven Litz Monrovia, Indiana

______________________________________________________________________________

FILED
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 29S02-0904-CV-140

In the

Apr 08 2009, 4:32 pm

CLERK

IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF INFANTS H., MARION COUNTY DIVISION OF INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SERVICES, v. S. M., Appellee (Defendant below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Hamilton Superior Court, No. 29D03-0504-AD-510 The Honorable William J. Hughes, Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 29A02-0611-CV-1018 _________________________________ April 8, 2009 Shepard, Chief Justice.

Appellant (Plaintiff below),

This appeal arises from an order of adoption granted to a New Jersey resident for children brought to Indianapolis for their birth to a South Carolina woman who had been inseminated with biological material from California. The adoption petitioner asked the trial court to waive various legislative safeguards designed to protect infants who are proposed for adoption. We reverse.

Facts and Procedural History

Twin girls whom we will call Infants H were born at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in early April 2005, and a few days later, on April 13, attorney Steve Litz filed a petition for adoption on behalf of a man we will call Petitioner. The petition described the children as "white females" and asserted that Petitioner was an Indiana resident, born in Indiana, and employed as a teacher. The woman who gave birth, 23-year-old Zaria, attached an affidavit saying that she was inseminated with combined sperm from Petitioner and an unknown donor, and that she was waiving her rights with regard to the newborns.

The trial court held a hearing on the same day the petition was filed. Petitioner testified on his petition. He indicated that Zaria had been inseminated with sperm from him and from another donor. (Apr. 13, 2005, Tr. at 5-6.) He said he was "currently residing in Indianapolis" but worked as a school teacher in Union City, New Jersey. The court indicated orally it would approve the adoption. It released the children to Petitioner pending a final hearing and declared that the statutory requirement of prior written approval of a licensed placement agency or the Marion County Office of Family and Children (Ind. Code

Download In the Matter of the Adoption of Infants H.; Marion County Division of Indiana D

Indiana Law