C.V. v. J.M.J.

I must respectfully dissent from the adoption of the doctrine of pre-birth abandonment. After considering the issue in prior cases like D.C. v. C.O., 721 So.2d 195 (Ala.Civ.App. 1998), and B.F. v. L.J., 771 So.2d 1029 (Ala.Civ.App.1999), I have concluded that Alabama law simply does not permit a man’s inaction prior to having proof of his paternity to serve as a basis for finding him unfit (D.C.) or concluding that he impliedly abandoned his child while establishing paternity or prior to the child’s birth (B.F.). As I stated in my dissent in B.F., “[t]o abandon a child, a parent must have a…