Judge says adoptive parents hid pregnancy
Posted: Saturday, February 16, 2008
OMAHA (AP) -- A judge has ordered a couple to return a baby boy they were trying to adopt, saying the couple should have revealed that the woman was pregnant during the adoption process.
Judge Patrick Rogers of Knox County District Court said the parents trying to adopt the boy, Jason and Angela Vesely, were not honest with the adoption agency.
And Rogers said the Veselys violated the trust of the 22-year-old biological mother, Megan Lynn Morgan of Sutherland. Morgan stopped supporting the placement because it would have violated conditions she set for the adoption.
"They should have, at the very least, understood that the fact that Angela was pregnant was a fundamental change in their circumstances and that it impacted their relationship with the relator (Nebraska Children's Home) and the birth mother, and they needed to disclose that fact," Rogers wrote.
The ruling was filed Friday morning, but it was actually issued late Thursday.
"It was absolutely the best Valentine present that one could ever hope for," said attorney P. Stephen Potter, who represented the biological mother and her family. "They were just really pleased the system had worked."
The 3-month-old boy's mother has said she wanted her son to be an only child with the adoptive family and that she wanted an open adoption.
Potter said Megan Morgan's mom asked the Veselys whether Angela was pregnant during an adoption interview last fall.
"She was informed, 'Oh no, she's just a little chubby,' when in fact, she was pregnant," Potter said.
Rogers said in his ruling that the Veselys' pregnancy wasn't a surprise, because they used in vitro fertilization to create it, and they knew she was pregnant in July.
The agency confronted the Veselys after finding out that Angela was pregnant in December, and the Veselys were told they had to return the boy.
Instead, the couple turned to the courts, and they were granted emergency guardianship of the baby. Judge Rogers' ruling granted a motion the agency had filed asking the judge to order the Veselys to turn over the baby.
"We're just really devastated," Jason Vesely said to the Norfolk Daily News.
He would not comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
Earlier, Angela Vesely, 32, had said she planned to tell the biological mother, Megan Lynn Morgan of Sutherland, and a caseworker about her pregnancy but was waiting because she had miscarried three children previously.
Jason Vesely has said his wife was more than four months pregnant when the agency assigned the child to them. They applied to adopt in 2005.
Nebraska Children's Home Society executive director Karen Authier praised the judge's ruling.
"We believe the judge showed wisdom and understanding of the adoption process," Authier said in a statement. "His decision reflects careful consideration of the long-term needs of the child and safeguards the adoption process."
Potter said the biological mother and her family don't believe the problems with this adoption were the Nebraska Children's Home's fault.
The agency's eligibility requirements state that couples with children under 18 months cannot apply to adopt children from the agency. And couples must wait until their own children are 2 years old before the agency will place a child with them.
The baby had been living with the Veselys in Verdigre, in northeast Nebraska, since four days after he was born in North Platte.
The agency plans to place the boy with the biological mother's parents. Potter said that should happen sometime Friday afternoon if all goes according to plan.
The boy will be known as Brett Jonathan Morgan, and not Morgan Jason Vesely, once he is placed with the Morgans.
The biological mother had also filed a separate lawsuit in Lincoln County asking a judge to invalidate the original adoption agreement she signed with the Nebraska Children's Home Society and grant her permanent custody. Potter said the Morgans had not decided what to do about that case yet, but it will likely be dropped.
Judge Patrick Rogers of Knox County District Court said the parents trying to adopt the boy, Jason and Angela Vesely, were not honest with the adoption agency.
And Rogers said the Veselys violated the trust of the 22-year-old biological mother, Megan Lynn Morgan of Sutherland. Morgan stopped supporting the placement because it would have violated conditions she set for the adoption.
"They should have, at the very least, understood that the fact that Angela was pregnant was a fundamental change in their circumstances and that it impacted their relationship with the relator (Nebraska Children's Home) and the birth mother, and they needed to disclose that fact," Rogers wrote.
The ruling was filed Friday morning, but it was actually issued late Thursday.
"It was absolutely the best Valentine present that one could ever hope for," said attorney P. Stephen Potter, who represented the biological mother and her family. "They were just really pleased the system had worked."
The 3-month-old boy's mother has said she wanted her son to be an only child with the adoptive family and that she wanted an open adoption.
Potter said Megan Morgan's mom asked the Veselys whether Angela was pregnant during an adoption interview last fall.
"She was informed, 'Oh no, she's just a little chubby,' when in fact, she was pregnant," Potter said.
Rogers said in his ruling that the Veselys' pregnancy wasn't a surprise, because they used in vitro fertilization to create it, and they knew she was pregnant in July.
The agency confronted the Veselys after finding out that Angela was pregnant in December, and the Veselys were told they had to return the boy.
Instead, the couple turned to the courts, and they were granted emergency guardianship of the baby. Judge Rogers' ruling granted a motion the agency had filed asking the judge to order the Veselys to turn over the baby.
"We're just really devastated," Jason Vesely said to the Norfolk Daily News.
He would not comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
Earlier, Angela Vesely, 32, had said she planned to tell the biological mother, Megan Lynn Morgan of Sutherland, and a caseworker about her pregnancy but was waiting because she had miscarried three children previously.
Jason Vesely has said his wife was more than four months pregnant when the agency assigned the child to them. They applied to adopt in 2005.
Nebraska Children's Home Society executive director Karen Authier praised the judge's ruling.
"We believe the judge showed wisdom and understanding of the adoption process," Authier said in a statement. "His decision reflects careful consideration of the long-term needs of the child and safeguards the adoption process."
Potter said the biological mother and her family don't believe the problems with this adoption were the Nebraska Children's Home's fault.
The agency's eligibility requirements state that couples with children under 18 months cannot apply to adopt children from the agency. And couples must wait until their own children are 2 years old before the agency will place a child with them.
The baby had been living with the Veselys in Verdigre, in northeast Nebraska, since four days after he was born in North Platte.
The agency plans to place the boy with the biological mother's parents. Potter said that should happen sometime Friday afternoon if all goes according to plan.
The boy will be known as Brett Jonathan Morgan, and not Morgan Jason Vesely, once he is placed with the Morgans.
The biological mother had also filed a separate lawsuit in Lincoln County asking a judge to invalidate the original adoption agreement she signed with the Nebraska Children's Home Society and grant her permanent custody. Potter said the Morgans had not decided what to do about that case yet, but it will likely be dropped.
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