Parental Rights
Build a Stable Foundation and America Will Be Strong
The issue of parental rights really encompass a very significant range of issues in our nation. By encouraging a policy of responsibility and self reliance we can avoid many of the problems caused by punitive laws on the books of many communities today.
Far too often the will of the people is exerted over ordinary citizens to force them to comply with a publicly set policy of how a child should be raised. This statement is overly simplified, to say the very least.
Not at issue here are cases where a parent, or parents, clearly abuse or neglect a child. Certainly this is a time and place for a community to step into the situation on behalf of the child.
By preserving the rights of all fit parents, to make the decisions that any parent should be able to make, to raise there children according to there social, religious, economical, and other philosophies we can help to ensure the most important building block of America remains strong.
A general summary of some of the issues include:
--Jonm 05:11, 23 April 2006 (MDT)
Medical Rights
In the United States we do a pretty good job in the area of Medical Rights for an individual. Sometimes, however, parents are not extended the right to make the ultimate decision for his or her child.
This is more a matter of a Licensed Medical Professional's right or obligation to report abuse that is based on his / her moral, religious, or ethical agenda.
So the questions are:
1. Who is best qualified to speak on behalf of a child?
2. Do we favor the authority of a Doctor over the judgment of a parent?
A simplified solution would encourage a partnership between patent, doctor and even the patient when appropriate. This solution would also remove punitive measures taken against parents and families when the measure creates more harm, and in fact solves nothing.
For example, when a family goes through the tragedy of a terminally ill child someone must make the ultimate decision at some point. No parent wants his child to suffer needlessly. There have been cases where a Doctor will report parents to the authorities when they feel the parent has made the wrong decision to not treat, or simply treat the problem contrary to the advice of the Doctor.
Why is this a problem?
1. This is a conflict of interest for the Doctor who stands to gain financially by forcing or prolonging treatment.
2. The tragedy that the family is experiencing is often exaggerated by further tragedy caused by punitive measures such as the removal of Parental Rights, or worse.
--Jonm 05:12, 23 April 2006 (MDT)
Divorce
Divorce has become one of the most pervasively destructive elements in American society. However, this is an issue that may never be resolved on a government level.
Who is harmed? The obvious answer is that the family and, of course, children are harmed in divorce. What is not so obvious is that there is an ever growing compound issue that has been created by legislation that is punitive and not supportive.
Who is responsible? Again, the obvious answer is that the parents are responsible. While this may be true, there are other areas of responsibility that may not be so obvious.
So why is this a Parental Rights issue, and why would it be of concern to a Senator?
The simple answer is that in the state of Utah, and similar in many other states, there are laws on the books that dictate how, when and by what standard a parent will parent his / her child. Supported by this are the many decisions of the Judicial branch that amount to a court order on how a child will be cared for.
More specifically, legislators and members of the judiciary are often no more qualified to make a parental decision that a parent. When they do mandate or make these decisions on behalf of a parent there are often a number of unintended circumstances. This happens because the background of the legislator or Judge is based on his economic, social and religious background. The result is that little consideration is given to the circumstances that are created by resulting law or the order of the court.
This is a fundamental problem because a divorcing parent is no longer afforded equal protection under the law in relation to other parents (not divorced). This is a problem because divorce (essentially a contractual arrangement between partners) is not a violation of the law. However, when a parent is divorces he / she is suddenly subjected to a whole set of laws that are very punitive.
There are many examples of how this is a serious problem, here is one that represents some of the most common issues (besides this example, there are similar issues with custody and other parental matters):
Parents divorce. One parent is assigned primary or full custody and the other parent is allowed some time with the children. Both parents have there income evaluated and, by state mandated formula, an order of support is entered against the parent that doesnât have primary custody. While this may seem to mirror a traditional family role there are a number of serious problems that are created here:
1. Because the order of support is a court order, non compliance is dealt with in a punitive manner (often resulting in collection or even jail time)
2. The standard of support is based on law that was crafted by legislators who generally have a significant economic advantage. Furthermore, it is also very common for a Judge to have significant financial resources.
The problem is that (assuming there is no deliberate abuse on the part of one of the parents) these laws and orders rarely account for economic events such as the loss of a job, illness, or the simple fact that both parents must survive. Compounding this issue is the fact that there is no enforcement on the use of these funds, and when incomes increase there is no cap. The ultimate result is that a parent is often left homeless, or forced into a survival situation that, because of the law and order of the court, often results in the incarceration of one parent.
As a result of the many cases where one parent will not pay, or falls behind on paying, child support. Legislators often look for more punitive ways of forcing parents to comply, such as revoking licenses or impounding vehicles. These measures, along with the many other laws on the books, only serve to create new and more complicated problems that often come at a significant expense to both the family and society.
The solution is simple. Parental Rights must be honored above the will of the people. Divorced (or even separated or out of wedlock) parents must retain the same rights afforded to all other parents and an environment of parental responsibility must be fostered by the US Government, State Governments and Local Governments. Parents should be allowed to come to an agreement on how children will be raised, and by what standards. It is clear that some level of commitment may have to be entered into by both parents, and it would be reasonable that they would be held responsible in these cases.
--Jonm 05:12, 23 April 2006 (MDT)
