June 28, 2011 |
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State Resolutions Resolutions passed Against the CRC: Oklahoma, Tennessee, and
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Resolutions passed for the PRA: Louisiana,
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"The Child" Update: Alabama Law Overturned One of the accounts featured in Watchman Cinema’s parental rights
documentary “The Child” got a joyful epilogue this month.
On Friday, June 10, the Alabama Supreme Court struck down a state statute which allowed grandparents to sue for visitation rights without any showing of abuse or neglect on the part of the parents. It was the only law of its kind in the country, and is featured in the documentary as represented by Hunter and Cinda Godfrey, whose rights were violated by this law. (Good involved grandparents are a blessing, but it should not be the state's prerogative to overturn the decisions of fit parents, even using grandparents as their excuse.)
The majority opinion of the Court in Ex Parte ERG takes the same high view of parental rights as we endorse in the Parental Rights Amendment, and we are excited to see this fresh reaffirmation of parental rights at the state level. But the Godfreys had to go through conflicting rulings in both the trial and appeals courts before receiving this decision at the state Supreme Court level. It is just this inconsistency that the Amendment seeks to address.
Sadly, the standard upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court last week has not been applied by the U.S. Supreme Court for more than a decade, and its application in lower courts is eroding as well. Further, international threats like the Convention on the Rights of the Child will not just go away.
In fact, this internationalist threat was echoed even in the Alabama case. Justice Main dissented, “I would hold that the child’s best interests, not the ‘interests’ of the parents, is the determinative standard for deciding whether to award visitation between a grandparent and a grandchild in the face of the contrary wishes of fit parents.” Chief Justice Cobb joined Main in his dissent.
Fortunately, seven justices agreed with the traditional standard of parental rights: “[T]he Constitution requires that a prior and independent finding of parental unfitness must be made before the court may proceed to the question [of] whether an order disturbing a parent’s ‘care, custody, and control’ of his or her child is in that child’s best interest. The state’s compelling interest is limited to overruling the decisions of unfit parents…. In the absence of clear and convincing proof that a parent is unfit, the state’s basis for intervention through the judicial system evaporates.”
The Court also cited and affirmed the standard from Wisconsin v. Yoder which serves as the basis for Section Two of our Amendment: “only those interests of the highest order and those not otherwise served can overbalance legitimate claims to a fundamental right” (emphasis added). We celebrate this victory for the Godfreys and for parents and children in Alabama.
Action Items Traditional parental rights will not be completely secure until we adopt the Parental Rights Amendment. They cannot just be taken for granted. In fact, they are still being fought for - and against! - in cases like the Godfreys'. Spread the word to everyone you know and urge them to sign the petition online and be ready to call their Congressman.
Also, consider making ParentalRights.org a part of your monthly budget with a recurring monthly donation. Help fund this vital effort to halt the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to secure the Parental Rights Amendment. Let's make court battles such as the Godfreys have gone through a thing of the past!
Sincerely,
Michael Ramey Director of Communications & Research |
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