Pledge vs. Custody Battles

When I wrote about the recent Supreme Court decision that Michael Newdow had no standing to challenge his daughter’s recitation of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, I quoted from an article that criticized the decision’s treatment of non-custodial parents. It seems that others are picking up on this as well.

Ellen Goodman writes:

"What does it mean," asks [Catherine Ross, a family law professor at George Washington University], "if you are a biological parent who pays support, has a relationship with the child, not someone who ran off? Does this mean you still have nothing to say about the values, the choices and the manner of raising your child? Does it mean you can't turn to the courts?" If a father like Newdow who lives with his daughter 10 days a month has no standing, says Ross, "it sends a message that if you are getting divorced or have a child out of marriage, you better fight for joint custody."

Both the courts and the culture have been encouraging the greater involvement of two parents - even estranged parents - in their children's lives. The Supreme Court ruled that the parent without full legal custody was without any legal standing. But if we want parents involved in the kids' lives, how can we remove them in the court?

This is a very good question. It is often said that if people want to have rights, they need to be willing to assume some of the responsibilities that necessarily go along with those rights. Well, the reverse should also be true: if some is willing to assume responsibilities and is expected to assume responsibilities, then it would be wrong to deny them some of the rights that go along with those responsibilities.

If a person takes responsibility for their child, assumes parental duties, and is involved in the life of their child, then there seems to be something very wrong with asserting that they don’t even have the minimal parental rights needed to have “standing” in a court case involving that child. It would appear that in order to avoid reaching a decision on the Pledge of Allegiance, the Supreme Court reached an even worse conclusion on a separate issue.

Read More:

• Secularism 101
• Separation of Church and State 101
• Religion in Public Schools
• School Prayer