Judges rip child from parents
Every now and then we get lost
during the course of our lives. We
confuse what is important with what
we think is important.
Sports, going out on Saturday
nights, the clothes we wear, the
grades we get, money — these are
things we think are important.
Family, relationships, honesty,
friendship, integrity, happiness —
these are things that are important.
This past July, all the things that
were important were taken away
from a little boy — not by a
criminal, but by the highest form of
justice in the state: a judge.
Actually, seven Illinois Supreme
Court justices failed 3-year-old
Richard. Miserably.
After spending his entire life with
his adoptive parents, the Illinois
Supreme Court overturned an
Illinois appellate court decision and
ordered Richard to be awarded to
his birth parents. This is the same
birth mother who had declared him
dead and the same birth father who,
until recently, wasn’t even aware of
Richard’s existence.
Richard’s adoption had been
legalized; yet, according to the
court, the adoption didn’t mean a
thing. The biological father, who
married the mother after Richard’s
birth, decided to pursue his legal
rights to the child. He won.
Now Richard has to be literally
ripped away from the only home he
has ever known. It is as if he were a
lost pet. “Thanks for watching our
dog for three years. We’ll be by to
pick him up soon.”
But he is not a pet or mantelpiece
or misplaced item. He is a child — a
child whose world revolves around
his parents. His real mother and
father. The two people who have fed
him, bathed him, nurtured him,
protected him and, most impor
tantly, loved him.
They did not declare him dead,
as the biological mother had done
It appears that even if they go
| through all the proper, state-issued
requirements, adoptive parents still
{ aren't guaranteed any rights as
I parents. Even after three years.
(which makes one wonder about the
mental condition of this woman).
They rejoiced in having him as their
child, the greatest gift of all. Now
all they can do is watch as their son
is taken away.
I can't decide which party is the
bigger monster here, the Illinois
Supreme Court or the biological
parents. It is the co.urt’s responsibil
ity to protect the innocent, but its
stupidity and lack of sensitivity and
compassion has impeded its duty.
And the parents’ selfishness and
blatant lack of concern for the true
well-being of Richard makes me
wonder just how bleak of a future he
must endure with these cretins. How
can anyone consciously steal a child
from his home? I hope I never
encounter a person so cruel.
Before Richard’s case made it to
the Supreme Court, he was pro
tected in a lower court. There, Judge
Dom J. Rizzi wrote the following on
Richard’s behalf:
^“Richard is not a piece of
property ... (he) ‘belongs’ to no one
but himself... (and) it is his best
interests that come before anything
else, including the interests and
rights of biological and adoptive
parents ...
“Courts are here to protect
children — not to victimize them.”
Another aspect of this ruling is
the effect it may have on other
similar cases. Will all adoptive
parents be forced to go through the
same hell as Richard’s?
It appears that even if they go
through all the proper, state-issued
requirements, adoptive parents still .
aren’t guaranteed any rights as
parents. Even after three years. If I
were an adoptive parent in Illinois, I
would fear the worst.
Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar said:
“The highest court in this state has
committed a travesty ... I cannot
imagine how the justices who
prevailed in this case will be able to
sleep at night.”
The justice who wrote the
Supreme Court opinion, James D.
Heiple, had this to say: “Laws are
designed to protect natural parents
in their pre-emptive rights to their
own children wholly apart from any
consideration of the so-called best
interests of the child.”
How can anyone, especially a
judge, be so ignorant.
Heiple has since turned down
Richard’s adoptive parents’ plea to
reconsider his ruling. Heiple has had
two opportunities to protect Richard
and has failed. Perhaps it comes
down to Heiple not being man
enough to admit he made a horrible,
tragic mistake. Pride can do that.
Fortunately, Richard has one
more chance: the U.S. Supreme
Court, if it decides to take the case.
So before you worry about where
to go tonight, say a prayer for
Richard. This is important.
Justice is a junior news-editorial and
broadcasting major and a Daily Nebraskan
columnist.
Stop whining in Washington
“Unh! ... I don’t WANNA read
this book ... I don’t WANNA write a
10-page paper ... I don’t LIKE stress
When projects hit me like a ton
of bricks, I turn into a whining 3
year-old who has just been told to
pick up her toys. Unfortunately, a 3
year-old is probably better at
organizing her tasks than I am.
I’ve tried keeping a daily
organizer, making lists, even posting
sticky notes around my room.
Nothing works. I’m left with wall
to-wall sticky notes and a pile of
things to do that includes getting all
the sticky notes off my walls.
In the end, I have no one to
whine to but myself. To paraphrase
Harry Truman, the sticky note stops
here.
With nowhere left to pass the
buck, I put my nose to the grind
stone and into my book, which talks
in part about the ratification of our
Constitution.
Shallow versions of history imply
that everyone thought the new
outline for our government was the
greatest thing since pewter. In
reality, each side hated parts that the
other liked, and neither would
approve it until each side gave
something to the other.
This time-honored American
tradition is known as whining,
bickering, or in some circles,
politics.
I envisioned the opposition
putting bumper stickers on their
horse-drawn carriages that said:
“Don’t blame ME. I voted
AGAINST the Constitution.”
I wish those same people could
travel in time to 1994 and see that
the same system they opposfid still is
working almost 203 years later with
only 27 revisions.
Granted, our government today is
bigger than Rush Limbaugh's head,
slower than a residence hall elevator
Granted, our government today is
bigger than Rush Limbaugh’s head,
slower than a residence hall elevator
and more frustrating than trying to
find a parking space at 10:30 a.m.
and more frustrating than trying to
find a parking space at 10:30 a.m.
But that’s how it’s supposed to
work. When everyone thinks they
have the perfect cure for our ills,
mixing a prescription that most
people can swallow will take some
time.
However, the minority insists on
whining: “Don’t blame me. I voted
for Bush.”
Blame you for what? Taxes? The
crime bill? The whole democratic
process? French fries being served
at White House dinners? What?
Sure, the Republicans are entitled
to a little whine every now and then,
but enough is enough. •
When the crime bill was consid
ered during George Bush’s adminis
tration, the Republicans loved it.
Now that a Democrat is in office,
they have forgotten they ever
wanted it.
Playing world policeman — such
as we did in Grenada, Panama and
Kuwait — was fine and dandy as
long as Republican presidents were
wearing the badge. But talk about
freeing Haiti from a cruel military
regime, and Republicans suddenly
worry about risking American lives.
Oddly enough, after the crisis in
Haiti cooled, all the Democrats and
120 Republicans in the House of
Representatives voted to bring our
troops home.
All 45 votes to keep them there
were cast by Republicans.
Those who need more examples
of Republican antics can catch up
with that federal-debt display that
was here a couple of weeks ago.
Nothing happens in a vacuum.
Many of the ills that plague our
nation stem from the policies of
Ronald Reagan and George Bush.
But the Republicans have laid the
blame not on themselves, but on a
man who was governor of Arkansas
when the sticky notes were flying in
Congress.
The next time I see a “Don’t
blame me” sticker, I’m going to run
up to the driver and scream: “Oh,
YEAH? Well, I DO blame you! I
blame you for the rich who got
richer while the poor got poorer. I
blame you for the fact that fewer
people can afford health insurance. I
blame you for the huge national debt
on my shoulders, and I blame you
for Richard Nixon! You, you ...
elephant!”
Now that I’m done whining, I
propose that the fools on Capitol
Hill do the same and start working
together to find remedies with which
most of us can agree. The medicine
might be nasty, but we need it
desperately.
Then pick up your toys before
you go to bed.
Paulman it a senior news-editorial and
history major and a Dally Nebraskan
columnist.
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