Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl: Supreme Court Decision Focuses On Adoption Policies

The Supreme Court has issued its decision in the case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, with SCOTUSBlog's Amy Howe calling the decision a "victory for the adoptive parents." At issue was "whether an unwed biological father who initially renounced his custodial rights to his daughter can rely on a federal law – the Indian Child Welfare Act [ICWA]– to block her adoption by the couple who had cared for her since birth." The Supreme Court decided that neither of the two sections of ICWA at issue barred the termination of the father's parental rights. Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the Court, with Justice's Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, and Breyer joining. Thomas and Breyer filed concurring opinions. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, with Ginsburg and Kagan joining, and Scalia joining in part.

For more on the issue, you can listen to RadioLab's podcast on the case below: