Austin woman watching the Supreme Court

AUSTIN (KXAN) -  An Austin mother is caught up in an international child custody suit that the United Supreme Court will now decide. The mother and father are separated, and the mother, Jacquelyn Abbott, brought the couple's child from their home in Chile to Texas. This is illegal  according to a treaty signed by the United States, as well as illegal under Chilean law.

The Treaty on Child Abduction at the Hague is aimed at preventing one parent from taking a child to another country without  permission. The Supreme Court will now decide whether that treaty must be followed by the United States. The child is a U.S. citizen  born in Hawaii, and is also a citizen of Great Britain.

A federal judge in Austin originally sided with Jacquelyn Abbot, and the Fifth Circuit court in New Orleans agreed that the child did not have to be returned to Chile. The Obama administration has joined the call for Supreme Court review, by citing a dissenting opinion offered by none other than Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in a similar case. If Sotomayor is confirmed for the court, she would sit on the court that will make the final decision.

The United States is one of more than 80 countries that signed onto the Hague Convention Treaty.