Who are the Real Parents?

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Who are the Real Parents? Are parents those who give birth to a child or those who care for a child? Does nature or nurture make a woman a mother? As more and more heartbreaking tugs-of-war between biological and adoptive parents surface, anyone searching for a baby has good reason for concern (Casey 119). Baby Jessica was raised from infancy by adoptive parents, Jan and Roberta DeBoer. For two and a half years Jessica was at the heart of one of the most bitter custody battles in America, caught between the parents in Michigan who reared her and the parents in Iowa who gave birth to her and wanted her back (Ingrassia and Springen 60). Cara and Dan Schmidt took screaming baby Jessica from her home in 1993 when they won their court battle to get her back (Casey 119). Baby Jessica is just one of the many victims of child custody battles in America. Jane and John Doe adopted a baby boy, Richard in March of 1991. Richard’s biological mother, Daniela Kirchner, gave up her son while her boyfriend, Otakar, was out of the country visiting his family. He had left Daniela just two weeks before Richard’s birth. Daniela had heard rumors that Otakar had been cheating on her with another woman, in Czechoslovakia, so she decided to lie to him about their baby, Richard. She told Otakar that Richard had died just four days after his birth. In May of 1991 Otakar returned to Chicago and the couple reconciled. Daniela told him about the adoption of their son and how she lied to him about his death. Eighty days after Richard’s birth, Otakar challenged the adoption. He claimed that he had no knowledge of his son until his return to the US and now he wanted his son back desperately (Ingrassia and McCormick 44). The Does met in seventh grade in a suburban Chicago school but didn’t start dating until they were in their early twenties. Married in 1979, Jane, a paralegal, and John and a son. They say that they had not sought to adopt another child but were “bowled over” by that first call about Richard. Never did they expect that legal briefs and litigation would dominate their lives for the next three years (Alexander 40). After three and a half years of court battle, baby Richard was torn away from his adoptive parents where he had lived since he was four days old and returned to his biological father, who had never seen him before (Terry A1). W... ... middle of paper ... ...sey, Kathryn. “The Case of Baby Lenore 25 Years Later.” Ladies Home Journal. August 1995: 116-9. Diamant, Anita. “Is It Safe to Adopt A Child?” McCalls (Jan 1994): 96-99. Rpt. in Family. Vol. 5. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: S.I.R.S., Inc., 1994. Art. 22. Hegger, Susan. “The Trials of Childhood.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (Aug 1993): 1B. Rpt. in Family. Vol. 5. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: S.I.R.S., Inc., 1993. Art. 17. Ingrassia, Michelle and John McCormick. “Ordered to Surrender” Newsweek. (Feb 1995):44-45. Rpt. in Family. Vol. 5. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: S.I.R.S., Inc., 1995. Art. 41. Ingrassia, Michelle and Karen Springen. “She’s Not Baby Jessica Anymore.” Newsweek. 21 March 1994: 60-3. McCarty, Kevin. “Adoption Exchange Association: Statement on the Uniform Adoption Act.” [http://www.webcom.com/kmc/adoption/law/uaa/aca.html]. January 1997. Terry, Don. “Storm Rages in Chicago Over Revoked Adoption.” New York Times. 15 July 1994: A1:A12. Yack, Wendy and Susan Littwin. “They Took Away My Baby.” McCalls. (Jan 1994): 96-99. Rpt. in Family. Vol. 5. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: S.I.R.S., Inc., 1994. Art. 22.

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