Adoption of Michael H.

In this appeal we further clarify the circumstances (see Adoption of Kelsey S. (1992) 1 Cal.4th 816 [ 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 615 , 823 P.2d 1216 ] (hereafter Kelsey S.)) in which an unwed biological father has a right under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to withhold his consent to the biological mother’s decision to give their child up at birth for adoption by a third party. We are also asked to consider whether an unwed father can be equitably estopped from attempting to veto such an adoption on constitutional grounds, whether an unwed father is barred as a matter of law from asserting such a veto if he was over age 18 and the mother was under age 18 at the time of conception, and whether children have a Fourteenth Amendment liberty interest in the continuity and stability of their family lives that limits their unwed father’s ability to exercise his own Fourteenth Amendment right to veto the adoption.

We conclude that the unwed father in this case did not satisfy the requirements of Kelsey S. as they are properly understood, and hence that he *1048 has no constitutional right to veto his child’s adoption. The judgment of the Court of…

Upon learning that his girlfriend, Stephanie H., was pregnant, Mark K. promptly acknowledged paternity; he contributed to the costs of her pregnancy; and he tried to maintain *1061 his relationship with Stephanie until she put an end to it. After researching the law himself, Mark filed a petition in propria persona for custody of his son Michael H. Since then, Mark has never wavered in his efforts to attain that goal. The majority terminates Mark’s parental rights in Michael solely because in the early stages of Stephanie’s pregnancy Mark did not oppose her plan to have the child adopted. The majority’s conclusion is at odds with this court’s holding in Adoption of Kelsey S. (1992) 1 Cal.4th 816, 849 [ 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 615 , 823 P.2d 1216 ] (hereafter Kelsey S.) that a biological father who “sufficiently and timely demonstrated his full commitment to his parental responsibilities” had the right to veto his child’s adoption. In my view, Mark has met the Kelsey S. test.

Nevertheless, I would conclude that Kelsey S., supra, 1 Cal.4th 816 , should not be applied retroactively, for reasons I shall discuss later. Thus, I agree with the majority, albeit on a different basis, that Michael,…

Steven A. Schutte, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Minor.

Robert C. Fellmeth and Kathleen Murphy Mallinger as Amici Curiae on behalf of Minor.

Lloyd M. Harmon, Jr., County Counsel (San Diego), Susan Strom, Chief Deputy County Counsel, and Kathryn E. Krug, Deputy County Counsel, as Amici Curiae.

OPINION

MOSK, J.

In this appeal we further clarify the circumstances (see Adoption of Kelsey S. (1992) 1 Cal.4th 816 [ 4 Cal. Rptr.2d 615 , 823 P.2d 1216 ] (hereafter Kelsey S. )) in which an unwed biological father has a right under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to withhold his consent to the biological mother's decision to give their child up at birth for adoption by a third party. We are also asked to consider whether an unwed father can be equitably estopped from attempting to veto such an adoption on constitutional grounds, whether an unwed father is barred as a matter of law from asserting such a veto if he was over age 18 and the mother was under age 18 at the time of conception, and whether children have a Fourteenth Amendment liberty interest in the continuity and stability of their family lives that limits their unwed…