Latest Breaking News
In reply to the discussion: Father will be reunited with baby adopted without his knowledge, judge rules [View all]Xithras
(16,191 posts)Utah adoption laws were written long ago by the LDS majority in their statehouse. Many of these adoption agencies around the country feed into LDS Family Services, which is fully funded by the Mormon church. Their purpose is simple...they believe that they are the "one true church", and that by helping Mormons to adopt them, they are "saving" these babies from unbelievers. Just as importantly, Mormons have a process called "sealing", where adopted children are "eternally bound" to their adoptive parents. Once that process is completed, according to their faith, the child "belongs" to the adoptive parents in the eyes of God the same way their own biological children do. According to their doctrine, God himself breaks the connection between the child and the biological parent when the kid is sealed.
According to their faith, taking an adopted child and returning it to its biological parents is an affront to God (equal to abandoning your children), a sin, and also has the effect of giving a "Mormon child" to a "Gentile", which is itself a sin.
The adoption laws in Utah are structured to protect their religious beliefs. They think they have a God-given right to keep her because, according to their church, they DO have a God-given right to keep her.