The biological mother of a girl at the center of a South Carolina adoption dispute has sued the federal government over a law governing the placement of Indian children.
Christy Maldonado on Wednesday sued U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder seeking a declaration that parts of the Indian Child Welfare Act are unconstitutional.
Maldonado's says the law considers race in determining with whom a child should live and therefore violates equal protection provisions.
A Charleston-area couple has been trying to adopt Maldonado's now-3-year-old daughter since the girl's birth. Veronica lived with them for two years but has been with her biological father since a 2011 ruling giving him preference because of his Cherokee heritage.
South Carolina's highest court ruled last week that she should be returned to the Charleston couple.
