Trucker sheds nearly 200 pounds, heads back to adoption court

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A 35-year-old truck driver who claims he was discriminated against in an adoption case because he is obese may have a second shot at adopting the baby boy after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

Gary Stocklaufer, who weighed about 550 pounds in July and has shed nearly 200 pounds, was back in Jackson County Circuit Court on Thursday for a second hearing on his petition to adopt 8-month-old Max.

Jackson County Circuit Judge John O'Malley, however, did not rule in the matter after the closed hearing, Stocklaufer said. It was unclear when the judge would rule, but more witnesses were expected to testify Friday, Stocklaufer said.

After the two-and-a-half-hour hearing, Stocklaufer said only that he was anxious to have baby Max back.

"I'll feel better when we get him home," Stocklaufer said outside the courthouse.

Court officials would not comment, citing confidentiality in adoption cases.

"We regret that a story is one-sided when reporters are not able to talk to all the people involved in a case," court spokeswoman Valerie G. Hartman said in an e-mail. "However, the court must uphold the laws regarding the dissemination of any record having to do with adoptions."

Stocklaufer and his wife, Cindy, 34, claimed their plans to adopt Max were denied because of Gary's weight. Instead, Max was given to another couple for possible adoption.

The Stocklaufers' case is considered by adoption experts to be one of the first cases where someone seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery after being rejected because he or she is obese.

The baby, who was 4 months old when he was removed from the Stocklaufer home in July, had lived with the Stocklaufers since he was a week old and is related to the Stocklaufers.

Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center in Philadelphia, said weight issues are becoming more commonly considered by adoption agencies. But she said she does not know of any agencies with written policies prohibiting adoption by obese people.

China, however, has announced stricter guidelines for adopting Chinese orphans, including prohibitions against potential parents who are obese.

"You never used to hear about it," Hochman said. "I don't think it's widespread, but each time there is a case like this that generates publicity, I think it awakens the idea for the people who are considering these cases."

She said courts and agencies likely consider weight when placing children because they are concerned about an adoptive parent's longevity and "the ability of the parent to be able to really parent in a healthy way."

"But of course, nobody knows about their life expectancy," Hochman said. "You see young healthy people adopting and then they go out and get killed in a motorcycle accident."

The Stocklaufer case is a private adoption and does not involve the state Department of Social Services. But Sara Anderson, spokeswoman for the department, said a number of factors, including physical health, are considered in an adoption.

"Every factor of their health is going to play into it," Anderson said. "Someone could be severely underweight, and that could play into it. You have to look at every single factor that you can."

Stocklaufer underwent gastric bypass surgery in August when it was offered to him free by a Dallas clinic after his case received national media attention. But his goal has not been a number on the scale.

"Anybody that doesn't do anything that it takes to take care of their children doesn't deserve them," Cindy Stocklaufer said in an interview about two weeks before the Thursday hearing. "What limits would you go to for your children?"

The Stocklaufers, who have been married 15 years and have an 8-year-old son they also adopted, said they were pleased to have the second hearing, and hoped it would result in their gaining custody of the baby.

"That has been our number one goal from day one to bring Max home with his family where he belongs," Cindy Stocklaufer said. "Max is a part of our family, biologically, emotionally."