In re Adoption of S.D.W.
Supreme Court of North Carolina
758 S.E.2d 374 (2014)
After Gregory Johns (defendant) impregnated Laura Welker, relying on her unverified claim she was using birth control, the couple had an abortion, later broke up, and continued a brief sexual relationship; Welker then gave birth to S.D.W., listed no father on the birth certificate, and incorrectly named a different "Gregory James" as the father on a parentage affidavit, causing an adoption agency's search for the biological father to fail. The Joneses (plaintiffs) petitioned to adopt S.D.W.; months later, Welker and Johns had sex again without her mentioning the birth, and only when Johns independently heard rumors of a child and called her did she finally disclose S.D.W.'s existence, after which Johns sought custody. The trial court found Johns's consent unnecessary for the adoption; the court of appeals reversed, and the Joneses appealed.
Whether adopting a father's biological child without his consent violates his substantive due process rights when his own failure to learn of the child's birth was within his control.