On October 18, 2012, DR. PHIL shared Veronica’s Indian Child Welfare Act story with his viewers. Christy wrote the following letter to Dr. Phil. He read portions of it during the show.
Dear Dr. Phil:
Thank you for the sharing our story. Me, Matt, Melanie and Veronica have been through so much. I never in a million years expected my child’s adoption to end up in this mess. All I ever wanted to do was give her a better life.
Please understand that even though I am unable to share my side publicly, I support Matt and Melanie 100%. From the moment we met I didn’t feel like I was giving Veronica up, I felt that I was expanding my family.
I am a single mom with two other young children. I work full-time and do my very best to make ends meet. When I became pregnant, my relationship with her birth father quickly went down hill. After months of trying to gain support, it was obvious that I was put in a situation where I was going to have to make a difficult and selfless decision.
I never thought that my unborn child’s very small Indian heritage would come back to ruin her life. She and I are both more Hispanic than anything. Her birth father never shared Native American culture with me. It just wasn’t a part of his life or our life when we were together. This custody battle totally blind-sided me. I just keep asking myself, “Why wasn’t he there when it mattered most?”
All I want is for Veronica to have a full and beautiful life with everyone that loves her. She will have that being raised by Matt and Melanie. I know in my heart that is where my daughter should be. I just wanted to do what was best for her.
Thank you for sharing our story and bringing awareness to how this law is hurting so many people.
Christy
Veronica’s Birth Mother