Two moms grieve for the death of 4-month-old Gabriel
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Gabriel did not die because his moms were lesbian. His death was
not the byproduct of homophobia. His fate was
not because of a violation of any legal custody issues. His story is bigger
than any of that. - Rob Watson,
LGBTQNation
Adoptive parents have always been held to a different standard: their desire to nurture a child seems somehow stronger, more definite than natural parents, especially if they will take ANY child that is given to them. But gay adoptive parents' desire to nurture has been called to question by the Christian Right, the meme "every child deserves both a mother and a father" being thrust forward at every moment of the gay adoption debate.
The Tragedy of Gabriel
The 17-year-old father of a baby boy who died just weeks after his
birth mother took him back from his lesbian adoptive parents has been charged
with first-degree murder.
Four-month-old Gabriel King McFarland was found unresponsive on April 22 by his
mother after she left the baby in the care of his father, Drew James
Weehler-Smith, at their Des Moines, Iowa home.
The boy later passed away and an autopsy revealed that Gabriel died of an
abusive head trauma, which authorities say he suffered at the hands of his teen
dad.
The motive for the murder is not yet known, but one obvious cause
of Gabriel's death is immaturity: immaturity and instability. A 16 year-old
girl's fecklessness and inability to carry out commitment has caused more grief
than joy. Her inability to ascertain the father's character was also a factor.
The video below goes at length about the causes of death and the circumstances,
but the last two minutes may be the most telling of all: "why was this
baby ripped away" from his loving adoptive parents?
Attorneys Everywhere - Protection Nowhere
One thing has come to light since the case was first reported: Heidi and Rachel
McFarland hold their own attorney responsible for not filing the paperwork
terminating parental rights.
"It's a two-step process. The first step is to file a
termination of parental rights. That process is normally started by obtaining a
release of custody from at least one of the two parents," [Ryan] Genest says.
[Genest is a lawyer specializing in adoptions not related to the case]
From there the birth parents have a limited amount of time to change their
minds.
"Any parent that signed the release, there's 96 hours to change their mind. For
any reason. If they fail to change their mind in those 96 hours they can ask
the court to revoke their release, but at that point they have to show what's
called good cause," Genest added.
96 hours is a far cry from two months - the entire time that the
McFarland's had baby Gabriel.
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