On my post, Adoption Agencies Referring to Expecting Mothers as Birthmothers, I incorrectly stated that it was not possible in any of the United States for a pregnant woman to be a birthmother because a woman cannot legally terminate her parental rights until after the baby is born. I have changed this statement to the following to make it accurate:

In a nutshell, a birthmother is a woman whose parental rights have legally terminated. This is not possible in most jurisdictions [emphasis added] before a child is born, so it is inaccurate to refer to a pregnant woman who is considering placing her baby for adoption as a "birthmother."

I had to make this change because I recently learned that a pregnant woman can be a birthmother in two states – Alabama and Hawaii. (If I knew how to insert a jaw-dropping emoticon here, I would do it.) In Alabama, a pregnant woman can voluntarily relinquish her parental rights while she is still pregnant, and she has five days to withdraw the relinquishment after the baby is born. In Hawaii, a woman can voluntarily relinquish her parental rights while pregnant, but she must sign a reaffirmation after the baby's birth. So, in both states, the expecting mother (birthmother? placing mother?) can still choose to parent after the baby is born but has already moved into the "placing mother" phase of placing an unborn baby for adoption while she is still pregnant.

I was so surprised when my editor told me about these laws that I called a friend to talk about them. My friend did not know which states had these laws, but she said she had seen a storyline about this very issue on a television program. The show focused on the legalities of a pregnant woman abusing her body while pregnant with a baby for whom she had already voluntarily surrendered parental rights. Because she was not the baby's legal mother, even though she was pregnant with the baby, the police officers on the show did not know how to proceed in the situation.

I can think of other legal issues that could arise as well. What if the birthmother (placing mother?) gives birth to the child at home alone. She is not the child's legal mother. Does that make her a kidnapper? Can she get medical coverage for birthing a baby who is not her legal child? If she takes street drugs while pregnant with a child who is not legally hers, does this affect how the laws are applied to her for harming a child who is born addicted to crack cocaine? If the pregnant woman is not the legal mother of the unborn baby, then who is?

I would love to hear from people who have been involved with an adoption in Alabama or Hawaii. Do women actually choose to terminate their parental rights while pregnant? How do these states deal with the legalities I have mentioned?

Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt