Today, the United States Supreme Court made a decision in favor of fit parents and children. They made a very wise decision considering there was absolutely no mention of abandonment, abuse or neglect. After talking to many parents that have been sued for these perceived rights, this case is typical of what most of the families go through. The grandparents had visitation and felt it wasn’t enough. (FL-CRPR poll showed 82% either had some visitation or never asked) They used the court system to bully their way into a fit parent’s home and challenged their God-given right to raise their family without the government micro-managing their family. Perhaps the Troxels were like many other litigating grandparents that seem to want more control on the way their grandchildren are being raised. Raising children is up to fit parents unless some serious dysfunction or real harm exists. Justic O’Connor instilled this with, “There is a presumption that fit parents act in their children’s best interests, there is normally no reason for the State to inject itself into the private realm of the family to further question fit parents’ ability to make the best decisions regarding their children.” Justice Thomas further commented, “here, the State lacks a compelling interest in second-guessing a fit parent’s decision regarding visitation with third parties.” Justice Souter also added, “We have long recognized that a parent’s interests in the nurture, upbringing, companionship, care, and custody of children are generally protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Adding more argument to fit parents having final say, he added, “The strength of a parent’s interest in controlling a child’s associates is as obvious as the influence of personal associations on the development of the child’s social and moral character. Whether for good or for ill, adults not only influence but may indoctrinate children, and a choice about a child’s social companions is not essentially different from the designation of the adults who will influence the child in school.”

Conceivably, these litigating grandparents were typical of the stories from other parents and simply were not patient in working with the family and eventually potentially having opportunities to get more frequent and/or longer visits. Now they have done the ultimate in forcing their will and lost. Perchance the visitation they had is looking better now. This decision by the USSC will leave individual states to modify their current standards and it appears to be a warning as Justic Souter clearly states, “It would be anomalous, then, to subject a parent to any individual judge’s choice of a child’s associates from out of the general population merely because the judge might think himself more enlightened than the child’s parent. To say the least parental choice in such matters is not merely a default rule in the absence of either governmental choice or the government’s designation of an official with the power to choose for whatever reason and in whatever circumstances.” Perhaps the harshest comment came from Justice Thomas as he states, “holds that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to rear their children, including the right to determine who shall educate and socialize them. I would apply strict scrutiny to infringements of fundamental rights. Here, the State of Washington lacks even a legitimate governmental interest–to say nothing of a compelling one–in second-guessing a fit parent’s decision regarding visitation with third parties.”

Misconceptions of this ruling will certainly follow.
Some will say that this will affect grandparents raising grandchildren. Grandparents with custody were never an issue in this case. Furthermore, a grandparent raising their grandchildren because the parents abandoned, abused, or neglected their children should be highly respected and revered.

Children are losers. Another misconception that I hear the litigating grandparent’s screaming is that “today, children lost.” While this is understandable considering many of these litigating grandparents are the same 82% mentioned above, it doesn’t reflect the truth that fit parents have basically been cleared to raise their children. Abused or neglected children will still have forced access issues that the Troxel vs. Granville case never discussed.

Access to grandchildren. There is already talk of “how will I see my grandchildren?!” What an odd question from a typical fit grandparent. How did grandparents see their grandchildren before we had these laws for someone’s perceived right? Most states didn’t have a governmentally forced 3rd party custodial visitation law until the late 70’s or early 80’s. Are we to believe that no grandparents saw their grandchildren before then?

Abused children will go unprotected. Abused children will be just as protected as they always have been. Perhaps even more now that parent’s are very conscious that litigating grandparents are looking for ways to prove abuse or neglect.

The grandmother in this case says that this will not affect other states. Anything the USSC does affects everyone. They are the highest court in our country and possibly in the world. To say that this will only affect Washington is completely and utterly asinine. This decision will affect almost (if not all) governmentally forced 3rd party custodial visitation lawsuits where abuse was not alleged and/or proven. With the standard clearly being bumped up to abuse, or at the minimum an unfit parent, it will be important to watch of increased CPS/HRS claims. It will be up to parents in each state to make sure their laws are changed and that fit parents remain out of the new standards.

Wrongfully denied grandparents may suffer from this decision and it’s hard not to have compassion for them. Looking at almost all the current grandparent’s “rights” web sites will show much of the reason for this USSC decision to be necessary. Some of the most controlling and nastiest people I have ever seen in my life run some of these sites. People like these and those that wrongfully sued to force their will is who is to thank for this judgment from the USSC. Grandparents that are being wrongfully denied access to their grandchildren is truly a sad situation and it’s impossible not to have deep empathy for their pain. However, if the grandchild is not being abused or neglected, then a fit parent’s decision must take precedence. I do not know the answer to grandparents in this predicament. I do know that trying to push their way into their grandchildren’s family life by using the government, as their personal bully, isn’t the answer. Today, the Troxels have proven just that.