And, indeed, the adoption petition and subsequent decree were artfully crafted by Ryan, who, like the Taylors, is a member of Marion's First Baptist Church.

In the absence of an adoption petition, there is no guarantee that the courts will know about every child given up for placement.

The deadlines may be 5 days after birth or 30, or any time before an adoption petition is filed.

An adoption petition filed by a polygamous couple seeking custody of six motherless children was dismissed today, but the judge stayed his decision to give the couple a chance to appeal.

Last fall, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision terminating the DeBoers' adoption petition and ordered the child returned to the Schmidts.

Judge Wefing's dissent agreed with the reasoning of the trial judge who had rejected Hannah's adoption petition.

But in many states, an unmarried father has no right to withhold consent for adoption unless he has signed up with a state registry before an adoption petition is filed.

He said the visa would be good for a year, plenty of time to apply for an adoption petition.