In Re the Appeal in Maricopa County, Juvenile Action No. JA 33794

OPINION

McGREGOR, Presiding Judge.

This appeal involves the relationship between Arizona’s consent statute, which permits adoption without the consent of a natural parent under specified circumstances, and the termination statute, which defines the circumstances under which a court may sever the parent-child relationship. We conclude that, when a natural parent does not consent to adoption, the adoption cannot proceed unless the court terminates the parent’s rights pursuant to the termination statute.

I

The facts relevant to our resolution of this appeal are not in dispute. On May 11, 1988, the…