[sunrico90]

Unmarried men who fail to register with the state as potential fathers before a child is adopted should lose their parental rights, an adoption agency lawyer told the Florida Supreme Court on Monday. Does this make sense?

Justice Harry Lee Anstead asked if that meant an unmarried man who has sex with a woman should skip "smoking the classic cigarette" and instead immediately tell the Health Department: "I want the state to know that I've just had sexual intercourse."

An appeals court disagreed with the for-profit agency's contention that certain unmarried men should lose their rights, but asked the justices to decide the interpretation of state adoption laws as an issue of "great public importance." The high court will release an opinion later.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with her argument and reversed a trial judge's decision terminating J.A.'s parental rights and barring him from challenging the adoption of his child.

The court based its decision on two prior cases in which it held that failing to file with the registry was not a basis for terminating parental rights. Portwood also is challenging the registry law