He did not learn of her biological ties to the baby until after the birth last March 27.

The man's wife had no biological ties to the child.

Mr. Massey had dealt often with adults who assumed parental roles even without legal or biological ties to the children.

But now some adoptees and birth mothers are raising questions about the legitimacy of adoptions that sever all biological ties.

And on the other hand, the William Sterns of this world are telling us that the biological tie is all important.

The question, in the courts and out of them, is whether biological ties or psychological ones should have the greater claim.

But several, including New York, have held that the father's biological tie to the infant bars that law from applying to surrogate-parent cases.

But some advocates of adoption may still find the overall emphasis on biological ties unsettling.

The group argues that biological ties do not guarantee the best home for a child.