High court wrestles with Indian adoption dispute
Apr 16, 2013, 4:34 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is trying to sort out a wrenching adoption case involving a Native American child, a biological father who first renounced any interest in her and adoptive parents who were eventually ordered to hand her over to the father.
The justices were hearing an appeal from the South Carolina couple who wanted to adopt the girl, named Veronica. The outcome of the case was unclear after arguments Tuesday that included an unusually emotional appeal from the couple’s lawyer.
The case turns on the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, enacted in 1978 because Indian children were being removed from their homes and typically placed with non-Indian adoptive or foster parents.
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