Supreme Court Allows American Couple to Keep Afghan Orphan

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed an American couple to keep the Afghan orphan they adopted as a baby, declining to hear an appeal from the child's relatives who claimed she was abducted. The decision ends a multi-year legal dispute over the custody of the girl, who was found orphaned in Afghanistan.

The child, referred to in legal filings as Baby Doe, became an orphan in September 2019 after her parents were killed in a U.S. military operation in rural Afghanistan. She was discovered at two months old in the rubble and hospitalized at Bagram Airfield near Kabul. There, she came to the attention of U.S. Marine Joshua Mast and his wife, Stephanie, who decided to adopt her.

In November 2019, the Masts secured legal custody of the child in Fluvanna County, Virginia, describing her as a "stateless minor recovered off the battlefield." However, the State Department at the time asserted that international humanitarian law required efforts to reunite the girl with her next of kin. She was subsequently sent to live with a cousin and his wife in Afghanistan.

The Afghan couple cared for the girl for approximately 18 months. In 2021, Joshua Mast, concerned about the child's health and the evolving situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban, assisted the couple in traveling to the United States. According to court filings, Mast took them to a refugee resettlement center and then took custody of the little girl after a social worker informed the couple that the Masts were her legal guardians. This led to a legal challenge where the Afghan couple sought to reverse the adoption.

Lower courts in Virginia initially ruled in favor of the Afghan couple, but Virginia's highest court ultimately decided in favor of the Masts, citing a six-month deadline in state law. The Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal on Monday means the girl, now seven years old, will remain with the Masts.

The State Department had initially emphasized the intention to reunite Baby Doe with her biological family about six weeks after she was found. A federal complaint filed in September 2022 by the Afghan couple detailed how Baby Doe was placed in the care of her paternal uncle following injuries including a fractured skull, femur, and second-degree burns. The uncle later transferred guardianship to his son and daughter-in-law, believing they had better access to medical care.

During this period, Joshua Mast was pursuing adoption plans. Records indicate that in November 2019, Mast informed the Attorney General's office of his intention to file for adoption as soon as possible. He also enrolled the baby in the Defense Department health care system and sought her evacuation. Mast described the uncle in court filings as an "anonymous person of unknown nationality" and deemed placing the girl with him "inherently dangerous."

As legal and logistical complexities arose, the Masts, concerned the child was in a "dangerous situation," enlisted an attorney to locate her. Their lawyer eventually connected with the Afghan couple. Meanwhile, in December 2020, a Virginia state court granted the Masts a final adoption order, citing that the child "remains up to this point in time an orphaned, undocumented, stateless minor."

The Afghan couple's lawsuit contended that Afghan law prohibits non-Afghan, non-Muslims from adopting Muslim Afghan children. They reported that during a phone call in July 2021, Mast conveyed concerns about the child's potential blindness, brain damage, or permanent disability if she did not receive medical care in the U.S. Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the Masts allegedly urged the couple to bring Baby Doe to the U.S. before the country's collapse.

Upon arriving in the U.S. on August 29, 2021, the Afghan couple presented the child's passport, which reportedly bore the last name Mast. According to the lawsuit, Joshua Mast encouraged them not to mention his name on the passport, stating it would simplify obtaining medical care for the baby. The couple was directed to refugee housing, but on September 3, a social worker informed them that the Masts were the child's legal guardians, having adopted her. The lawsuit claims the Afghan woman reacted with distress, falling to the ground and begging.

In January 2023, Mast stated he did not believe he had used the word "adoption" when discussing the arrangement with the Afghan couple, explaining that he was attempting to communicate the concept of a "long-term commitment throughout the course of a childhood all the way to adulthood" in a way they might understand, as adoption is not a recognized concept in Afghanistan.

In July 2024, the Court of Appeals of Virginia had voided Mast's adoption, finding he had misrepresented facts to a local custody court. However, the Virginia high court reversed this decision in February, leading to the appeal that the Supreme Court ultimately declined on Monday.