Posted by
Billy on Thursday, January 07, 2010 3:37:53 PM
A nasty custody case in Virginia highlights the way that the relentless push for
same sex marriage threatens our core understanding of the nature of family. The
desperate determination to honor gay rights undermines such fundamental values
as the importance of motherhood, and the states obligation to consider the
welfare of the child.
The basic facts of the current dispute remain uncontested. In the late 1990s,
Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins began a lesbian relationship, and they secured a
civil union in the state of Vermont in 2000. Shortly thereafter, Miller became
pregnant through artificial insemination from a sperm donor, with the
understanding that she and Jenkins would raise the resulting child as a couple.
After the babys first birthday, however, Miller renounced homosexuality, became
an Evangelical Christian and decided to raise her child, Isabella, on her own.
The two women sought legal dissolution of their relationship in the Vermont
Family Court and the judge, William D. Cohen, awarded custody to the birth
mother but provided extensive visitation rights for the mothers rejected
girlfriend. For several years, Miller resisted sharing her daughter with
Jenkins, employing various legal strategies to challenge the court order.
(The above is part of a column written by
Michael Medved. Read more of the column below.)
Finally, on November 20, 2009, Judge Cohen found Miller in contempt of court for
continuing to deny access to her daughter, now seven years old. He also changed
his decision regarding custody now awarding custody to Jenkins, who bore no
biological connection to the child and played no significant role in her
upbringing after the babys first year. Courts in both Virginia and Vermont
backed Jenkins claims on the babyclaims that received potent free legal backing
from both the ACLU and the gay-rights-oriented Lamda Legal Foundation.
The governmental authorities ordered Lisa Miller to hand over little Isabella to
Janet Jenkins, a woman the child hardly knew, on January 1st, at 1 PM, at the
home of Ms. Jenkins parents in Falls Church, Virginia. Ms. Miller failed to
appear as directed, and is presumed to have become a fugitive with her daughter.
Regardless of the final outcome of this sad story, the case demonstrates the way
that the militant gay rights agenda trumps long-standing patterns and
preferences in family law.
(Amen Michael. To those of you who say Miller shouldn't have gone on the run , what would you do if your seven year old child was going to be made to spend time with a person she hardly knew. This case should also show us that some of those who are pushing for gay rights including the right to adopt children don't care about what is best for the children. They are just pushing their political and culture agenda. Read all of the above column by
clicking right here.)