Choosing Adoption to Protect My Baby: Domestic Violent Relationship

By Jaclyn Prasa

After finding out about your unplanned pregnancy, you may be considering your options. You may be thinking about whether you can parent your baby yourself, terminate the pregnancy, or give up your baby for adoption, but it may feel uncertain if you are living in a domestic violent relationship. Living in a domestic abuse situation is not OK. And it is most critical now to find safety, not only to protect yourself but also to protect your baby. You may mistakenly feel stuck in an unstable home. But you are not stuck. There are resources to assist you and your baby in getting out of a destructive and harmful situation. Most adoption agencies in Florida can help you. 

Why Choosing Adoption to Protect Help Protect Your Baby

First and foremost, you can get out. 

If you’re in a threatening situation in need of immediate attention, call 911. This, most importantly, will guarantee instant assistance. Down the line, if you need to go to court to terminate the abusive birth father’s rights (more on this later), your report can additionally be used as corroborative evidence.

Additional Resouces:

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline: (800)799-7233 is free, confidential, and available to you 24/7. They can help you find safety or develop a safety plan. This is also a good starting point. 
• If you do not have a safe place to stay, like with a trusted friend, then there are several shelters scattered around the state of Florida open to help you. 
• Adoption Choices of Florida can provide you with safe housing. 

Once you have a safety plan in mind, then you will be free to decide the best option for you and your unexpected pregnancy.  

Choosing Adoption

After weighing your options and deciding that adoption is the best choice for you, then the next step is to contact Adoption Choices of Florida. 

From there, Adoption Choices of Florida will assign you a personal adoption counselor. You and your adoption counselor will create an adoption plan, which will be tailored to your unique situation and individual needs.  

It will be determined the amount of assistance in which you require. We can help you to find safe and comfortable housing during the duration of your pregnancy and even post-placement. 

We know how hard it can be to give up your baby for adoption, we want to ease any of your extraneous burdens by offering you financial stability. Also, we can offer you financial assistance with rent, groceries, medical bills, etc. 

Other resources we offer consist of medical care and emotional support. We can help you find doctors and schedule prenatal checkups. Your health and well-being are important to us. For that reason, we offer emotional support counseling throughout the entire adoption process, as well as afterward. 

The adoption process in Florida is quite simple. It’s the emotional weight that will be the hardest to carry. Furthermore, choosing adoption while in an abusive relationship may have turbulence. It is our promise that Adoption Choices of Florida will be with you to help you throughout. You will never be alone. We will support you in finding the best care and safety for you and your baby.  

Is the Birth Father’s Consent Needed? 

The birth father’s rights vary by case. In the state of Florida, the birth father’s paternity would have to be acknowledged for his consent to be needed in the adoption at all. 

Some factors of acknowledgment: if you and the birth father were married during conception, if the birth father has been established as the father in the court of law, or if you and the birth father signed an Acknowledgment of Paternity. 

This would mean that he is seen as the legal paternal father and, therefore, would need to consent to your decision on placing your baby for adoption in Florida. 

However, consent would not be needed if a court has terminated his parental rights or if he does not respond to a request for consent within 60 days. This just pertains to a legally acknowledged birth father.  

Depending on your circumstances, there are options for you to proceed with the adoption without his consent. When you contact Adoption Choices of Florida, our legal advisors will be able to coach you with the understanding of the legal law of Florida based on your case. Ultimately, there is a way to proceed safely with or without the birth father’s consent. We will be able to assist you with the best form of action to take care of yourself and your baby. Speak to your adoption specialist or legal advisor for more help on this matter.

Your Rights in the Adoption Process

Once you understand your options and the course of action needed for adoption in your case, then you can focus on the adoption process. 

You form the process. You choose from certain adoption options like choosing the adoptive family and level of openness within the adoption. There are three types of adoptions, also called levels: open, semi-open, and closed adoption. This relates to how much connection and contact you wish to maintain between your baby and your chosen adoptive family. This is a completely personal choice. 

You have the right to change your mind about anything at any point within the adoption process. In the state of Florida, after you have given birth, you have up to 48 hours to sign the consent for the adoption. Once you sign, your parental rights will be voluntarily terminated, finalizing the adoption. You have the right to choose adoption at any point in your pregnancy or after birth. 

Our ultimate desire is that you are as confident with your decision to put up your baby for adoption as possible. We will work with you to answer all of your questions. Additionally, we will physically be by your side through it all. 

Choosing Adoption to Protect Your Baby

Living in fear of an abusive domestic partner is menacing. Since you are now pregnant, it is even more critical to get out of the situation. We can help you and your baby find safety. The brave first step is to give us a call. The process is entirely confidential. Your safety is the most important thing. From there, we can begin to plan a happy future for you and your baby. 

If you are a pregnant woman in Florida considering adoption and have any questions or concerns about the adoption process, please don’t hesitate to reach out. For more information on adoption, visit us at Adoption Choices of Florida or call or text us at: (833) 352-3678.