Baby Jessica case

Last updated

The "Baby Jessica" case was a highly publicized custody battle in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the early 1990s between Jan and Roberta DeBoer, the couple who attempted to adopt the child, and her biological parents, Daniel Schmidt and Cara Clausen. In August 1993, the supreme courts of Iowa and Michigan ordered her returned to Schmidt, who named her Anna Jacqueline Schmidt. The case was widely publicized as the "Baby Jessica" case after the name given her by the DeBoers. [1] The case name is In re Clausen 442 Mich. 648 (1993).

Contents

Overview

Anna was born in 1991 to 29 year old [2] Cara Clausen, who placed her for adoption with Jan and Roberta DeBoer without telling Schmidt that he was the father. She also put a different man's name on the birth certificate, further obscuring paternity. The adoption process was handled by the DeBoers' attorney, whom Clausen erroneously thought was also her attorney. Five days after the birth, Clausen changed her mind, informed Schmidt of his paternity, and told the DeBoers that she wanted to cancel the adoption.

Clausen had already relinquished her parental rights so there was nothing that she could do. But Schmidt had not relinquished his parental rights so he could and did stop the adoption proceedings. The DeBoers, however, believing that the most important issue was the best interest of the child, rather than parental rights, attempted to complete the adoption.

Clausen and Schmidt, who were married in 1992, [3] continued in the courts to get the child returned to them. The DeBoers, who had named the baby "Jessica," battled to keep the child for two and a half years, but ultimately lost. The Iowa Supreme Court noted Daniel had from previous relationships, two children whom he largely failed to financially support and with whom he failed to maintain meaningful contact. [4]

Because the adoption process had never been completed, the Michigan court decided to give full faith and credit to the sister state judgment from Iowa and order child to be returned to her biological parents. Anna had several visitations with her biological parents before the transfer. [5] Newspapers showed photographs of a screaming toddler being taken from the DeBoers and transferred to the Schmidts. [6]

A child psychoanalyst supervised the transition to the Schmidt home. She reported that "her adjustment has been so unexpectedly good that I give the Schmidts and the DeBoers a lot of credit." And, a year after the transfer, said, "Everyone guaranteed—guaranteed—that she would have short-term trauma, that she wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, she'd cry. It didn't happen. She progressed rapidly."[ citation needed ]

Roberta "Robby" DeBoer later wrote a book called Losing Jessica about the case, [6] and the DeBoers established a child group called Hear My Voice that advocated for children involved in difficult custody cases, with a pro-adoptive parent angle. [7]

The DeBoers adopted a newborn boy in 1994, nine months after returning Anna.[ citation needed ] In 1999 they divorced, and although they remarried, [8] they divorced again. [9] The Schmidts divorced close to the same time as the DeBoers.[ citation needed ] They went on to share custody of Anna and their second daughter. [10]

Anna said in 2003 that she has no memory of the DeBoers and was doing well with her biological family. [1] [11]

Film portrayal

A TV movie dramatizing the events, Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica was produced, but was criticized by some for being biased in favor of the DeBoers.[ citation needed ] In the film, the DeBoers, who were better educated than the Schmidts and had a better financial position, were portrayed as an affluent, ideal family for the child, while the Schmidts were portrayed as unsuitable parents.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption</span> Parenting a child in place of the original parents

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.

Baby M was the pseudonym used in the case In re Baby M, 537 A.2d 1227, 109 N.J. 396 for the infant whose legal parentage was in question.

Paternity law refers to body of law underlying legal relationship between a father and his biological or adopted children and deals with the rights and obligations of both the father and the child to each other as well as to others. A child's paternity may be relevant in relation to issues of legitimacy, inheritance and rights to a putative father's title or surname, as well as the biological father's rights to child custody in the case of separation or divorce and obligations for child support.

A stepfamily is a family where at least one parent has children who are not biologically related to their spouse. Either parent, or both, may have children from previous relationships or marriages. Two known classifications for stepfamilies include "simple" stepfamilies, where only one member of the family's couple has a prior child or children and the couple does not have any children together, and "complex" or "blended" families, where both members of the couple have at least one pre-existing child.

The Baby Richard case was a highly publicized custody battle that took place over Danny Kirchner, a young child whose adoption was revoked when his biological father, Otakar Kirchner, won custody in a case that was decided in 1995 by the Illinois Supreme Court. The child became known as "Baby Richard" in widespread media coverage.

Open adoption is a form of adoption in which the biological and adoptive families have access to varying degrees of each other's personal information and have an option of contact. While open adoption is a relatively new phenomenon in the west, it has been a traditional practice in many Asian societies, especially in South Asia, for many centuries. In Hindu society, for example, it is relatively common for a childless couple to adopt the second or later son of the husband's brother when the childless couple has limited hope of producing their own child.

The main family law of Japan is Part IV of Civil Code. The Family Register Act contain provisions relating to the family register and notifications to the public office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption and Safe Families Act</span> Act of the 105th United States Congress

The Adoption and Safe Families Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1997, after having been approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Child Welfare Act</span> 1978 U.S. federal law regulating tribal jurisdiction over court cases involving children

The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is a United States federal law that governs jurisdiction over the removal of American Indian children from their families in custody, foster care and adoption cases.

Gregory Ralph Kingsley is the first American child, who, at the age of 12 years, legally severed ties with his mother. He changed his name to Shawn Russ after the juvenile court judge Thomas S. Kirk "ended the parental rights of his natural mother and allowed [his] foster parents to adopt him".

Child laundering is a tactic used in illegal or fraudulent international adoptions. It may involve child trafficking and child acquisition through payment, deceit or force. The children may then be held in sham orphanages while formal adoption processes are used to send them to adoptive parents in another country.

Anna Mae He was born on January 28, 1999, in the United States and was the subject of a custody battle between her Chinese biological parents, Jack and Casey He, and her white foster parents, Jerry and Louise Baker. The case, revolving around the Bakers' claim that the Hes had abandoned their rights to the child when they signed a temporary custody order, lasted seven years and received national media attention in the United States.

Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians.

Until 2017, laws related to LGBTQ+ couples adopting children varied by state. Some states granted full adoption rights to same-sex couples, while others banned same-sex adoption or only allowed one partner in a same-sex relationship to adopt the biological child of the other. Despite these rulings, same-sex couples and members of the LGBTQ+ community still face discrimination when attempting to foster children.

Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, 570 U.S. 637 (2013), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that held that several sections of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) do not apply to Native American biological fathers who are not custodians of a Native American child. The court held that the procedures required by the ICWA to end parental rights do not apply when the child has never lived with the father. Additionally, the requirement to make extra efforts to preserve the Native American family also does not apply, nor is the preferred placement of the child in another Native American family required when no other party has formally sought to adopt the child.

Raymond W. Godwin is an adoption attorney based in South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption in the Philippines</span>

Adoption in the Philippines is a process of granting social, emotional and legal family and kinship membership to an individual from the Philippines, usually a child. It involves a transfer of parental rights and obligations and provides family membership. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) defines adoption as a "socio-legal process of giving a permanent family to a child whose parents have voluntarily or involuntarily given up their parental rights."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Kiessling</span> Anti-abortion activist and attorney

Rebecca Kiessling is an American anti-abortion activist and attorney. Her advocacy is focused on criminalizing abortion, including in the case of pregnancy from rape.

The second-parent adoption or co-parent adoption is a process by which a partner, who is not biologically related to the child, can adopt their partner's biological or adoptive child without terminating the first legal parent's rights. This process is of interest to many couples, as legal parenthood allows the parent's partner to do things such as: make medical decisions, claim dependency, or gain custody in the event of the death of the biological parent.

<i>Autonomies</i> Israeli TV series or program

Autonomies is an Israeli dystopian drama miniseries created by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky. The story is set in an alternate reality of present day Israel, a nation torn and divided by a wall into the secular “State of Israel”, with Tel Aviv as its capital, and the “Haredi Autonomy” in Jerusalem, run by an ultra-Orthodox religious group. The series stars Assi Cohen, Rotem Sela and Shuli Rand. Keshet received its Israeli premiere on Hot 3 on 6 September 2018. The series received its world premiere on 1 May 2018 at the Festival Séries Mania in France. The series was also the centrepiece of the New York Jewish Film Festival in January 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 "Baby Jessica Case Updates". Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan, USA). 2001–2003. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
  2. ↑ Walsh, Edward (June 4, 1993). "TWO PARENTS TOO MANY FOR A LITTLE GIRL". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Parents who won Baby Jessica fight seeking a divorce". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "In re Clausen, 442 Mich. 648 | Casetext Search + Citator (VI, 732)". casetext.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ Charen, Mona. "Revisionist history in the case of Baby Jessica". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Herndon, Lucia (1994). "Adoptive mother tells painful story of 'Losing Jessica'". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  7. ↑ DeBoer, Robby. "Robby DeBoer Papers". quod.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Couple who lost Jessica and divorced plan to remarry". Deseret News. February 4, 2001. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ Oppat, Susan (January 6, 2009). "Jan DeBoer starts over after fire damages his Pittsfield Township apartment". mlive. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Couple who lost Jessica and divorced plan to remarry". Deseret News. February 4, 2001. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Baby Jessica Takes to News Life, New Name : Adoption: Family says 3-year-old Anna Schmidt is adjusting well a year after her birth parents regained custody from her adoptive parents". Los Angeles Times. August 7, 1994. Retrieved October 26, 2021.

Further reading


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.