This time from Australia.  Read about it here (Herald Sun, 12/7/08). 

"He has never harmed his only child or her mother.  He has never threatened them and a court has accepted he is of good character.

But last week, after a tortuous 10-year journey through four courts, more than 20 hearings, 12 psychologists and six lawyers, he was told he could not see his daughter until she came of age."

So another father loses his child, another child loses her father because...

This time it's because the judge was convinced that, if the father's parental rights were respected and the daughter got to see him, the mother would emotionally "shut down."  The obvious answer: deny all contact between father and daughter until she gets to be 18.

I don't know about you, but I think that if the mother is that unstable emotionally, maybe it's the dad who should have custody.  Did that occur to the judge?

Again, for the umpteenth time, children benefit from having involved fathers in their lives.  The social science is clear on that.  When will courts catch up to the science?  When will legislatures recognize what social science already knows and pass laws accordingly?

Fathers and children pay the price daily.

Thanks to Malcolm for the heads-up.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 27th, 2008 at 10:00 am and is filed under Family Law, Fathers' Rights/Noncustodial parents' rights, Children's Rights, Divorce/Separation/Child Custody, Bills/Initiatives, Elections, Politics, Court Cases. You can trackback from your own site.