[MamaS]

In the news is a report of the decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court to return a seven-year-old girl to her birth parents. There are obviously two sides to this story, but one comment really struck me:
Emotional upheaval to Anna was dismissed as grounds for the Bakers to keep her. Being taken away from the only family she has really known "does not constitute the substantial harm required to prevent the parents from regaining custody," the Supreme Court ruling said.
If that is not substantial harm, somebody tell me, what is?

[StacyKelly2]

Oh My God!!! That is absolutely horrific! I just could not imagine. Hearing that kind of judgement makes me so scared in our case. I would love to know the whole story in this case...maybe the real biological father did not know of the adoption. It is just so scary to know that a child can be pulled away after so many years. I cannot imagine even after our son has been with us 21months him being seperated from us. ..Nobody can tell me that my child would not be effected!!

[mom2GRLC]

That just makes me sick!!! And they call that JUSTICE???

It's so sad the "SUPREME COURT" refused to even see what was in the best interest of the child.

[daddysangel]

This hits way to close to home
I can not respond

This system has gotten way out of hand.
May GOD give them strentgh.

[spitzlvr]

I just read this... Tenn. court rules for Chinese parents - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com

the girl is 8 - she has lived with her foster family since she was 3 weeks old.

So sad.

[kdecrow]

Hi. I live in the area where this decision to return the child to her birthparents has taken place. This poor little girl has only met her birthparents on two occasions, and neither time she wanted anything to do with them. Her birthparents are Chinese. The little girl speaks NO Chinese and has been ordered to return to birthparents within 12 days. The foster couple she is with was never able to adopt her due to ongoing litigation with bparents..
What happened to the "best interests" of the child??? I'm sorry her birthparents didn't understand the ramifications when they signed papers giving her up. I do feel that some kind of visitation arrangement could have been worked out avoiding this horrific disruption in this child's life.

Before anyone gets angry and says I don't have any feelings for the birthparents please know this. I am a birthmother of a 29 year old son. I have missed him and ached for him every day. HOWEVER I know this burden is mine to bear and not his.
We have to put the child's welfare and feelings first. We just have to.

Kim

[lahdh4]

Here is my ?, what were the parents told? They understood little English and were told they would be able to get her back. Yet, they have been fighting since then to have their daughter returned to them.

[gigigeorge]

It is sad because this really isn't a failed adoption. they were only her foster parents after the birthparents were told the placement was temporary they have been fighting to get her back since she was two... now she's eight. Though not the popular opinion the foster parents (not adoptive parents because their rights were never terminated) have some responsibility in this situation.

Situations like this are what make people think that adoptions aren't safe, that birthparents can come back at anytime. Which isn't the case, they were foster parents who had a child placed with them. They had no legal rights to the child but they proceeded to cut the birthparents off in an effort to adopt a child that wasn't available for adoption.

I know this isn't the popular opinion and regardless it is a horrible thing that's being done to this young girl. Her life will be forever changed by these events, and someone needs to stand up for her.

g.

[ChristieS]

Originally Posted by gigigeorge

It is sad because this really isn't a failed adoption. they were only her foster parents after the birthparents were told the placement was temporary they have been fighting to get her back since she was two... now she's eight. Though not the popular opinion the foster parents (not adoptive parents because their rights were never terminated) have some responsibility in this situation.

Actually the birthparents parental rights were terminated, and in accordance with Tennessee law.

Originally Posted by gigigeorge

Situations like this are what make people think that adoptions aren't safe, that birthparents can come back at anytime. Which isn't the case,

Actually there are times that this is the case.

Originally Posted by gigigeorge

they were foster parents who had a child placed with them. They had no legal rights to the child but they proceeded to cut the birthparents off in an effort to adopt a child that wasn't available for adoption.

I haven't seen this on the news anywhere. Where did you get that?

Originally Posted by gigigeorge

I know this isn't the popular opinion and regardless it is a horrible thing that's being done to this young girl. Her life will be forever changed by these events, and someone needs to stand up for her.
g.

Yes. On this we agree.

[daddysangel]

I have to tell ya without reading the story the anger hit me hard.After reading the whole story that case and ours are not similar at all and to be perfectly honest I think the Bakers were more at fault then the Bparents.With that said however it does not ease the pain for the one that has to deal with this kind of change ANNA.
May GOD bless this little girl and may she soon feel safe and secure again.

GOD bless

[StacyKelly2]

Why did this drag on?? 8 years. What state was this?? If the child was placed in foster care...wouldn't there be a time limit for the birth parents? This is just too scary. So since a birth parent does not sign over his/her rights that gives them the right to come forward after years and get custody back. I cannot imagine how these cases or why these cases are not given top priority!! For the child's sake. Why was the child placed in foster care to begin with? I am still amazed at the cases on this forum with contested adoptions....How hard can this be? Either you want your child and if you do you go to court and fight for him/her...in quick time. I cannot imagine any judge holding this case on and on for this amount of time. Then again our contested adoption is now 21 months and counting. Hearing this news just makes me sick to my stomach. It is just pitiful!

[SadMomma]

I read a couple of articles on this, and it does look like the birth parents were taken advantage of. They put their child up for temp foster care due to not having healthcare for the child or money to take care of her. It was only suppose to be 90 days. On one hand if I was them i would have fought everyday for my child, but on the other hand she is now 8 and what damage would this do to her. The story i heard about the visitation is a fight broke out and the police told the bparents not to return. After 4 months the adoptive parents said they abandoned their child. I think this will be every hard being that they are planning to take the child to China. The transition will be huge because she won't be able to see her foster parents anymore. I wonder if i was the birthparents, would i have done what i think is best for the child and not take her our of the only enviroment she has ever known. As much as it would have hurt me, i might have but with the agreement i could have a relationship with my child. But i wasn't in their shoes.

[daddysangel]

I read the story on Spitzlvr's post.
Chinese Parents win back their daughter.At the end of the story there is another web sight to click on and it is who testified and what was said.So if all that is true then if it were me as the Bakers I would of been prepared to lose her because people should not try to adopt in that manner.My daughter is 8yrs old and if the Bfather was doing all of that since she was born then I would have a completely different outlook on our case.If I were the bparents then I HOPE I would have sat Anna down and at least listened to what she thought would be best for her.7 or 8 yrs old they can verbalize an opinion.I would also look her right in the eyes and see if I could see fear.Biological or not I would not take a child that had fear in their eyes when they look at me.That is not what we are put on this earth for.We are here as parents to make them truly feel love and secure that we will always be there no matter what.KEY WORDS-NO MATTER WHAT!!
May GOD bless ANNA with that again.

[gigigeorge]

Daddys Angel you are absolutely right !!! They have been asking for her back since they placed her but the FOSTER parents decided to stop allowing them to see her so that they could adopt her. They should have known that eventually they would lose her, as hard as it would have been they should have given her back immediately she wasn't their child. I do think in this case the adults need to look at the best interest of the child, get over themselves and their emotions and work out a REAL plan for this little girl that doeasnt include disrupting her whole life.

Christie, you said that this is a case where adoption can and did go wrong but it didnt - they never, ever, ever adopted her but remained only her TEMPORARY legal guardian.

We had a baby boy placed with us and bmom signed over temporary legal guardianship for a period of 90 days, but didnt terminate her rights. She asked for him back and we knew we could not make that little boy suffer in a long drawn out court case... even though it was heartbreaking and we loved him and he will always be our son, we did the right thing by allowing his mom to raise him. The bakers should have given her back the second the birthparents asked for her.

g.

[StacyKelly2]

Now I am totally confused with this whole story. The birth parents said they wanted her and were fighting for her...then why was she not immediately given back to them...- In our case the birth father is contesting...he has changed his mind several times. Our angel is now 21 months...we have tried to offer open adoption and tried to do what we feel would be best for our angel...he agreed then changed his mind. Honestly we do not know what his final decision will be..the last time which was almost now one year ago he wanted custody. However, he has never taken this to court. Is that our fault? Being in a contested adoption and trying desperately to figure out what will happen next is just heartbreaking. He has done nothing to show commitment or any type of legal work to try and get custody. I am sure if he told his side of this story it would be us trying to keep the baby from him..which is the furthest from the truth..We do not want this to drag on...as hard as it is -we have to put the best interest of the child first...We will be taking this back into court. My only top concern is why would any biological parent allow all this time to go on...At any time the birth father can go to court for atleast visitation or something...and yet he has done nothing-Although he now holds up the adoption plan. How is this fair?