What are My Rights as a Birth Mother in Colorado?

Placing your child up for adoption is definitely a mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional  process, but it contains a more legal side as well. It’s important to be aware of these rights, as they can vary from state to state, and sometimes agency to agency. However, as our adoption agency is located in Golden and Colorado Springs, we will be focusing on your rights as a birth mother in Colorado.

Here at Adoption Choices of Colorado, we aim to make sure that you know all of your rights and duties as a birth mother, and hope to help you as you embark on one of the biggest decisions of your life.

Your Right to Have a Say in Your Adoption Journey

Decades ago, pregnant women and prospective birth mothers had no control over their adoption journey. They were sent away to have their babies in private, and then told to return to everyday lives as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. None of them ever learned what became of their children, or who he or she went to.

Fortunately, the adoption process has changed for the better over the past few years. You now have full control over your adoption journey and the decisions made within it. You get to choose your child’s adoptive parents and what type of adoption you want. You get to create a birth plan that details what you’d like your hospital experience to be like. 

When you choose to place your baby for adoption through our Colorado adoption agency, this is exactly what you can expect. You have a say over what happens in the adoption process and your adoption journey overall. You are assigned an adoption caseworker, who helps you determine what’s best for you and your child and supports you every step of the way. Nothing happens without your consent anymore, giving you peace of mind and confidence that you’re making the right decision.

Your Right to Have Contact with the Adoptive Family

Selecting who your child will go home with after he or she is born is perhaps one the most important decisions you’ll make in the adoption process. But, as a soon-to-be birth mother, you have the right to handpick who you want that to be. Your adoption caseworker will provide you with prospective adoptive parent profiles who meet any previously discussed preferences to the best of our ability, and offer you glimpses of what opportunities each family can give your child.

If getting to know the adoptive family and maintaining contact with them post adoption is important to you, this can be arranged. Depending on what type of adoption you want, you can define how involved you want to be with them and your child after the adoption has been finalized. You can also have the opportunity to meet with the adoptive parents during the adoption process, learn more about them as people and establish a strong, healthy relationship with them.

Your Rights when Completing the Relinquishment Paperwork

When it comes time to relinquishing your parental rights, it’s important for you to know more about how this process works. For instance, if you’re married, your husband will automatically be considered the father and has to give his consent for the child to be placed for adoption. If you’re unmarried, on the other hand, the supposed birth father would have to prove his paternity and sign away his parental rights as well for the adoption to continue.

In the case of the birth father being unknown, however, our adoption agency will do our due diligence in locating him. If he does not surface in the time allotted by the state, his signature is not needed and your adoption journey may continue to finalization without him.

To learn more about this, or if you have any questions or concerns regarding your specific circumstances, be sure to consult with your adoption caseworker.

Your Rights as a Birth Mother in Colorado

The most important thing to remember is that your parental rights as the child’s birth mother do not automatically end once you’ve begun the adoption process. There are options out there for both you and the child, and, ultimately, it will be your decision that makes the differences in both of your lives. Until the adoption process is completely finalized, it is your biological right to weigh your options and have a say in what happens. 

If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to learn more about your adoption options, contact Adoption Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.

Meet the Author: Timothy “Blake” Donohoo is a writer with a myriad of experience in various mediums and formats under his belt. With over two years’ worth of writing obituaries for marketing firms, consumer products groups, and the entertainment industry, Blake has both an informative tongue and a sharp wit that continually educates and entertains, gluing the eyes of an entire spectrum of readers.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he received his BA in Communication, Blake has in the past written for healthcare publications such as Chattanooga’s True North Custom as well as Catholic Health Initiatives. Blake continues to write exciting content for CBR.com, where he regularly waxes philosophical concerning the goings on of the comic book, film, television, anime and video game industries.

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