The Case of Marie and Her Sons

New York Times ^ | July 23, 2006 | DANIEL BERGNER

[blueminnesota]

Parens patriae is the legal principle, about four centuries old, that lies behind cases like Marie’s. It lies behind the child-welfare investigations into the families of three and a half million children in the United States in 2004 (the last year for which statistics are available). Each year around 300,000 children are temporarily removed and 65,000 to 70,000 of those children are ultimately taken from their parents forever, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

[blueminnesota]

Interestin article about child welfare services in NY. I'm torn between agreeing that taking these children out of this kind of a home is the best thing and disagreeing that the government should have this kind of power.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Might have been interesting, but I simply cannot support the New York Times by giving it a hit on its website.

[Shimmer128]

This is rough, and my distrust for Big Daddy gov't and my distrust of druggies and women who have children from a myriad of different druggies are warring against each other.
Rough.
On a shallower note, i can't imagine naming brothers Antonio and Anthony.
Why didn't she name another one Antoine? And who in the heck names their child Diomedes??

[daviddennis]

If you read it to the end, an interesting truth comes up - Marie is gone to New York and will probably never visit her children again.

She's pregnant again and doesn't want protective services to take the new child. Isn't there something strange about soneone with this many kids, who she can't handle, getting pregnant again?

There is birth control, you know, and you can get it free ...

D

[Shimmer128]

I read it to the end, the bitter end.

[HighlyOpinionated]

The government should not have this kind of power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. People with questionable morals put themselves in positions of power to rule over the less fortunate/educated in society.

With today's climate of "questionable mores" which includes aberrant sexual behaviors on the part of State/County/Local officials who are mandated to "protect" children from abuse, neglect and exploitation, it is just as often this "official" person who is abusing the very children the community thinks he is protecting.

Child Welfare came about after the A.S.P.C.A. and it was ASPCA laws which were used in the first legal battle to protect a child. Unfortunately too many people still consider children as "possessions" and that they have the 'right' to do with their 'possession' whatever they want.

What we see today is the result of the moral decline of the USA since the 60's.

[blueminnesota]

Oh yeah, I caught that! Really, I don't understand why having a child is such a slight thing to these women. Having ONE child was the major event of my life and I am bankrupting myself over it.

But the idea of government being able to claim a child in the womb still bothers me....