That's... odd. I think I'll look into Utah laws, but as far as I know if he can prove the child is genetically his then he, or his parents, would have to sign away his parental rights before an adoption could even take place. I mean if the mother put down that she wasn't aware of who the father was, in which case they'd just need her approval, but he could stand up and get a DNA test to prove he was the father and reinstate his parental rights... Only other thing I can think of would be some kind of exception clause regarding the age of the mother/father in question, but we're talking about a 20 year old here so I highly doubt that could apply...
Curious.
Update: hmmm so Utah Adoption Act:
(e) an unmarried biological father has an inchoate interest that acquires
constitutional protection only when he demonstrates a timely and full commitment to the responsibilities of parenthood, both during pregnancy and upon the child's birth; and
(f) the state has a compelling interest in requiring unmarried biological fathers to
demonstrate commitment by providing appropriate medical care and financial support and by establishing legal paternity, in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
So... if he blew off taking care of the mother while she was pregnant, after she gave birth, and never established legal paternity maybe?
