Mother Gives Daughter up for Adoption — Dad Finds Out and Fights to Win Her Back

A man is cheated out of his right to be a dad when the woman who birthed his child gave her up for adoption without his knowledge — he fought, but did he win?

In the past, Utah's controversial stand on parental policies has been a subject of debate as there have been one too many cases where it has been abused.

Colby Nielsen, a Utah man, would undoubtedly agree — after all, he has a story of that time he got blindsided while the law's long hands were folded.

If not for his grit and determination, he could have lost the child because the mother, who had no love for the baby, had already given her up behind his back.

In response, Nielsen armed himself with a well-versed attorney named Wes Hutchins, and together they challenged the Utah law that says if a couple is yet to tie the knot, the mother can decide to give their baby up for adoption without the father's say. Here are the details.

BEFORE THE DEED

Nielsen was 20 when he found out he would be a father and unlike many young males, he was excited about it.

He promptly told his girlfriend that they would keep it, and she agreed. The child was born on November 4, 2015, and was named, but a week later, she revealed her desire to put the child up for adoption.

Of course, Nielsen didn't want that, and he told her as much; if she didn't want anything to do with the kid, he would take care of her with help from his family.

"(It) makes me really proud to see him stand up and be a father and be nourishing," Colby Nielsen's mother, Teresa Nielsen, who was ready to support him, had said at the time.

Nielsen's girlfriend said nothing more, but she seemed to entirely detach herself from the child, leaving him to care for her alone.

The devoted father changed her diapers, got her fed, bathed, and clothed for about two weeks while working on papers that would grant him sole custody of the child.

However, on November 12, he was suddenly served with a court order that mandated him to hand over his child to her new adoptive parents — courtesy of his girlfriend. Naturally, he obeyed, but he decided there would be war. By November 18 of that year, Kaylee was in the custody of the adoptive parents.

DRASTIC MEASURES

After Nielsen lost his child, he hired Hutchins, and the attorney deemed it fit to call a public press conference to get the public's attention.

During the conference, Hutchins stated that it was "reprehensible" to take a child away from Nielsen after he catered to her for about 14 days straight. Hutchins said:

"It is contrary to the most basic notions that we hold dear as Americans."

Many may think it should be a crime to take a kid from its parents without tangible reasons — even if the person doing the taking is the mother of the baby herself — and quite a few netizens find it appalling that one of Utah's laws permits it.

According to Hutchins, the child named Kaylee was legally given away, and her mother was within her rights to do so — even though it was without the father's consent.

Nielsen may have still been a young man when he became a father, but he was ready to take responsibility for the daughter he had raised for about two weeks alone.

DAMAGE CONTROL

On November 23, following the publicity the case had gained, the adoptive parents returned Kaylee to her father. Unfortunately, the devoted father's trouble didn't end with the adoptive parents returning Kaylee because her mother didn't want her anywhere near him.

She kept him away, legally, until December 2015, and even after she gave him access, it was only for visits. Still, for Nielsen, who knew it could be worse, it was a welcome development even if it had to follow a phone conference with a Judge.

Hutchins hoped the pair could see eye to eye outside the court. It would make things less messy and would be best for the kid.