Right or wrong,
choice took too long
The American appeals process, so cherished by mur
derers and other capital criminals, has once again done
society —- and a little girl — a great injustice.
Jessica DeBoer, a two-and-a-half-yoar-old girl who has
spent all but three weeks of her lifo in the custody of
Jan and Roberta DeBoer of Lansing. Mich., was returned
to her biological parents Dan and tiara St hmldt on Mon
day. legally — and permanently — separating her from
the only family she lias ever known
The decision, which has thrown light onto the sub
ject of the legal rights of biological parents and adop
tive ones, has done much to tear apart the lives of all three
parties: the DeBoers, the Sr hmidts and Jessica But it also
provides an opportunity to examine more closely the
painfully apparent flaws in American adoption law
The Schmidts, who have I wen unfairly vilified by the
media and repeatedly accused of ignoring the Iwst inter
ests of the child, aro not solely to blame for this heartrend
ing drama. And neither are the DeBoers, who merely want
ed to hold on to the child who had iearnod to call them
Mommy and Daddy. Everyone involved In the case has
been the victim of a justice system that took too long to
come to what legal experts called an inevitable conclu
sion: that Jessica must be returned to her biological par
ents.
Cara Schmidt, who was at that time Cara Clausen,
released Jessica for adoption Fob. 9. 1991, the dav after
Jessica was born. She was placed in the DeBoers’ custody
two weeks later. Within two weeks, tiara Clausen and Dan
Schmidt, Jessica's father, had decided to try to regain cus
tody.
As the case was heard in court after court, in Michigan
and Iowa (the Schmidts' homo), decisions were handed
down in favor of tho Schmidts, who married in 1992. But
because of the appeals process, the DeBoers were ablo to
keep Jessica for two-and-a-half years Iwfore finally hav
ing to give her up this week, when the U.S. Supreme Court
refused to further delay the transfer.
One of the reasons this case took so long to resolve was
because tho adoption was handled by private attorneys,
who are pledged to support their clients’ interests — and
not necessarily the child’s.
Currently, about a thin! of the states prohibit adoptions
arranged by private attorneys, resting the responsibility
on the shoulders of state-licensed agencies. Unlike attor
neys, who may be inclined to put tho child in tho hands
of anxious adoptive parents as soon as possible, such
an agency, with counseling for the mother and other ser
vices, can do more to ensure the child's welfare. It is pos
sible that this entire situation could have boon avoided
if Cara Clausen had been given the proper counseling
before giving Jessica up in the first place.
The American Adoption Congress, which represents
both adoptive and biological parents, as well as adoption
agencies and attorneys, has advocated that a time limit
be sot on decisions of custody, but this approach is not
without its flaws; in particular, it is conceivable that a
couple fighting for custody would play legal games to
delay a decision until after the time limit. Still, the idea
has merit and should be further investigated.
Although tho ordeal undergone by Jessica (and the par
ents who fought for her) was sometimes tragic to witnoss.
it would bo a shame to let this chance to reform adoption
law slip by. Tho solutions may be imperfect, but so is the
status quo. Making imporfect changes would still be bet
ter than watching another case as distressing as Jessi
ca's bo played out again on our televisions and in our
newspapers.
Oregon Daily Emerald 1
!N> Orngv D*’y I *«iM <1 published daily Monday trough f nday dunng the school
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Death, taxes... and shopping
It has tax'll said that life holds
no guarantees ex< ept for
death and taxes But there is
one other certainty.
It is every bit as inevitable as
our final resting place and just as
inescapable as the IRS 1 'in talk
ing. of course, about shopping.
And not just any shopping,
mind von grtx erv shopping
In our consumer-driven, glut
tony-powered American society,
the great equalizer is. without
question, the supermarket. These
giant temples of bread and but
ter, produce and pasta, canned
goods and candy, have become
the ultimate slice of life: with the
exception of the very rich, who
have their shopping done for
them, everyone has to buy food.
So grocery stores have become
one of the only places left in this
country where people from all
walks of life and from every imag
inable social category can find a
common ground. All roads, it
would seem, lead to Safeway
As a cashier in a local super
market. I have had ample oppor
tunities to witness first-hand this
subtle human drama Twelve
short months of punching keys
and tugging kiwis has done more
to open my eyes than my entire
first year at the University. I know
that college life is supposed to be
"enlightening" — far be it from
me to throw water on that cher
ished notion — but it seems to
me that our campus is .111 island
of f‘ C. in a world of W.C. (Who
Cares'). And the capital of W.C.
is the modern Mega Food Mart
Call me naive (it wouldn't be
the first time), but here arc some
of the surprising observ at ions I’ve
made during my tenure as Cap
tain Cashier:
• People are sheep No matter
how hungry they are, no matter
how many people they're buying
for. whether they are young or
old. people always buy seven
donuts
Why? Because it's seven
donuts for a dollar They always
huy four string cheeses, too. And
six bagels. And it's not because
it's a round number, either. Can
dy liars are two for UK cents, and
more often than not. they huy
two. So if you're looking for a
shining example of individuali
ty. Iie.it of a-diHerein-drummer
type stuff, don't look at anyone's
groceries You'll lie sadly disap
pointed
• Joint checking accounts are
on tin* rise. I don't want to step
on any toes hero, so I'll try not to
imply any disapproval when I
say that I see an awful lot ol folks
with different names living at the
same addresses. Maybe such a
strategy is a good idea, and maylie
not. I |ust didn't realize it was so
common.
(Oh, and if the Oregon Citizens
Alliance really doubts that 10
percent statistic, it ought to try
sending Lon Mahon out to check
groc eries He'll find out in a hur
ry.)
• The homeless exist Tins may
seem obvious, but in Eugene
there really aren't that many peo
ple sleeping in doorways. It's
easy to forget their plight.
But day after day I see their
meager purchases glide down
my conveyor belt, paid for by
food stamps, government checks
and. more and more, money
earned by returning bottles and
c ans. When conservatives talk
about the damning effects of
welfare and other giveaways,
they often forget one of the most
destructive "entitlement" pro
grains of all: the Bottle Bill.
After all. you can't buy beer
with food stamps.
• Nobody buys the tabloids. I
sell one or two rags a day. tops.
Mostly they just serve as enter
tainment for me between cus
tomers. No. I don't actually open
them. The headlines are enough
for me. "Colt born with human
head" and "Satan's face seen
over Waco.”
I particularly like the way the
Examiner bills itself as Ameri
ca's favorite "family" newspa
per. I can picture it now: "Kids,
gather 'round Daddy's going to
read to us about how l.oni
begged Burt's best friend to have
sex with her!"
• I hate kids In my job. I see
them at their worst. "Gimme
this” and "Gimme that" and
screams and fits of every possi
ble description. All the most
attractive things for kids are
placed within easy reach (a
clever merchandising tactic), so
it is my privilege to watch the
family dynamic in action I’ve
learned that kids who've never
even heard of Thomas lefferson
can deliver a powerful oratory
on their inalienable right to
orange Tic-Tacs.
Although few of you will have
the opportunity to observe the
supermarket environment as
extensively as I have as a
cashier, there is no reason why
you can't take some time during
your next outing to watch the
people and discover what the
real, non-coilegiate world is like.
But then again. Who Cares?
David Thorn will he an Emer
ald editorial editor beginning
fall term,
Letters to the editor most lie limited to no more than 250
words, legible, signed anti the identification of the writer must
be verified when the letter is submitted
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or
style.