Ex parte E.L.

It is well settled in Alabama that adoption is a purely statutory right. “In Alabama, the right of adoption is purely statutory and in derogation of the common law, ... and unless the statute by express provision or necessary implication confers the right of adoption, such right does not exist.” Evans v. Rosser, 280 Ala. 163, 164-65, 190 So.2d 716, 717 (1966) (citing Doby v. Carroll, 274 Ala. 273, 147 So.2d 803 (1962)). In Hanks v. Hanks, 281 Ala. 92, 99, 199 So.2d 169, 176 (1967), this Court similarly stated:

“The right of adoption, that is, to confer on the child of another a title to the…