Willis requires parents who adopt infants in his county to agree that one of them will be home with the baby during the first year and won't work full time during the baby's preschool years. Willis is perhaps the only justice in Michigan to require such a pledge, which he acknowledges is not legally binding and may be offensive and outdated to some. ...Monica Farris Linkner, a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, told the Gazette that Willis' requirement limits the adoption of healthy newborn babies to two-parent families whose socioeconomic status allows them to get by on only one income.
Willis said he does not require the pledge from adoptive parents of foster children, children with special needs or children from other countries. He restricts the requirement to parents adopting babies born in this country because "this is a babies' market; that's where the waiting list is." ...
Michigan Supreme Court and Court Administrative Office spokeswoman Marcia McBrien declined to answer questions about the legality of Willis's pledge requirement, in the event the matter might someday come before the state's top court.
Labels: adoption rights
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
