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 yea' and tuesday and Thuisday dunng ih* summer by the Oegon Oaty E*«'ald Put»*h.nfl Co Inc . althe University ot Oegon 1 gene Oegon The Emerald operates independently o* ihe Unrverady a*th Otic as a( Suae 300 0* me Eib Mr-" - ,i Urnon end s a membe* o’ the Associated Press Ihe Eme.aid .s private propeily The uniaw*^ removal or use ol papers s prosecutable by 'a* Editor: rase Sierg Photo Editor: A .-me, Eomey Associate Editor* EdCarscm Martn f ane' Sol . eny Night Edllor la-* Berg General Manager ily Bay ‘ Advertising Chr eel or Mark ,A Production Manager Maxine (toss Advertising I >e me Be 3*'n-' f M.v. " Va- 3 O'Bryan II A-v^e W ndheev Pa’ - Wang Clasaltied: IWx-y Me- ' » ■ AC I I Business K am y Carbone S.. * . r P.vkvleti iMINl A.-' v’c Coonjrraf, Slat y Mi he* *nr •<* II and Newvoom 346-55 H Bu*-n«n Office 346-531? Diftptay A youft CAfAP(\lCM PlAT^OftNVJ | vov LEA . voo SA'O VOH UAH TED us ASWAY. M - LSAQEHSHiP. 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.