Why the Veronica Brown Case is Frustrating Me So

Veronica Brown. By now, everybody in adoption land, and many people who aren't, are familiar with the name. But in case you haven't, Veronica Brown was relinquished at birth by her mother. Her father, Dusten Brown, fought the APs for a year and a half before, with the help of the Indian Child Welfare Act and his Cherokee heritage, he was able to have his daughter returned home. What should have been a happy ending to a tragic story was in fact just the beginning of the long legal battle between Brown and Veronica would-be adopters, the Capobiancos. The battle ultimately led to the Supreme Court, where the decision to stop the adoption on the grounds of ICWA was overturned, as it was decided that Brown was an "uninvolved" father (despite his years of legal battles to keep his daughter, he is somehow considered uninvolved) and South Carolina courts later ordered the adoption to be finalized.

Certainly, this isn't the first news story, court ruling, etc. to upset me. But for some reason, this one really gets to me. It keeps me up at night. Every time I read or hear about Veronica Brown I am overcome by feelings of intense anger, and sadness. The emotional drag of this case weighs more on me than anything I have ever seen on the news. Then, last night, I had a realization.

This case gets to me because it is hitting too close to home. The biological father of my daughter, I believe now more than ever, had his paternal rights illegally revoked. I have gotten different stories from the agency that handled my adoption and the couple who got to be my daughters parents. But only one story from my daughter's biological father: nobody told him anything. He was never served, as the adoption agency claims. He was never contacted by any attorneys, as my daughters adopters claim. He was never given any rights. He was never given a say. And I carry a tremendous amount of guilt for that.

Granted, my daughter's adoption has never been challenged. He knew that he had a daughter on the way, and knew that before we stopped communicating, adoption was still in the cards. But, as he claims, he didn't learn of her placement until it was too late. And he doesn't have the backing of a strong Indian nation to help him.

My daughter's father's rights never existed. Much like the Supreme Court has decided that Dusten Brown, or any other father for that matter, has no right to any of his children that somebody is willing to pay a pretty penny for.