Supreme Court declines to hear appeal in Afghan adoption dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal regarding a disputed adoption involving an Afghan child orphaned during a 2019 U.S. Army raid. The case centers on a child whose parents were killed during a military operation in Afghanistan. Following the raid, the infant was hospitalized at Bagram Air Base, where Joshua Mast, a military lawyer, and his wife decided to adopt her.

While the State Department worked with the Afghan government to reunite the child with surviving relatives, the Masts obtained a final adoption order from a Virginia court without notifying the biological family. Although the child lived with her Afghan relatives for 18 months, the Masts took custody at a refugee resettlement center during the 2021 U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Virginia lower courts initially sided with the Afghan relatives, but the state’s highest court ultimately ruled in favor of the Masts, citing a six-month deadline in state law. The Masts have maintained they acted honorably to provide a stable home, while the relatives argued the adoption process was deeply flawed.