Topic : 04/12 Twin Tug of War

They have one major reason going for them:  Florida Adoptions are closed to the public.  That's the law and the Needham's and their attorneys have used it since the very second Allison signed the adoption papers.  Florida law is that a child given up for adoption under six months old, it takes place immediately.  Then they use this Adoptions closed to the public as their defense not to go public. 

It's not a very good defense considering the names of the children, all the adults, the attorneys, and the judge has already been put out to the public but it works because, again, it's the law.

But, IMHO, they would not have good answers for the questions that would be asked.  I'm not talking about  "the law" questions because they did operate within the law, but the moral questions that would be asked of them. 

Here are some questions that would be asked:  Why didn't you give the kids back when she requested them?  Couldn't you find other kids to adopt?  Why "these kids"?

Basically, they would be put on "The Morality Trial" vice the "The Legal Trial".  I like to make a point about the difference:

Morality dictates how the laws are made, not the other way around.  Most of us know that murder and stealing are wrong not because the law says it is but because our morals made those things wrong so we made a law against it.

Here examples of morality changing laws that were made.  Women right to vote and Abolishing Slavery.

Heck, our country was founded on morality!!  The people of the colonies saw it as immoral the way England treated them, so they made a constitution to change the laws.  They believed in it so much that they gave their lives for it.

That is what so hard about this case.  Even though you are operating within the law, does it make it right?

If I was the Needhams, would I go public and be submitted to these questions?  No Way!!!!!!

I'm a man thats been married for 37 years.  My wife and I have two children we love very very much.  My wife Rose and I both think Allison deserves to have her children back.  Allison doesn't belong in jail!  Any loving parent would do all in their power to have and protect their children.  Due to the hyperemesis, Allison was unable to function normally.  The lawyer and the people that received the twins took advantage of the terrible situation Allison was experiencing.  You asked if it was right to take the children away from the other people now?  I say a big, YES!  They haven't had them all that long considering how long the life spans of the children will be.  The real crime is if Allison continues to stay in prison and isn't allowed to have her babies back.  I HOPE ALLISON QUETS WINS THIS CASE. 

Jim & Rose Piatt

I agree with those who think the judge overreacted in revoking bail for Allison.  If Allison planned this vacation openly, had legal passports for the children, and registered in a bed and breakfast under her own name -- it doesn't make sense to treat her like a criminal.

This is a travesty of justice -- North Carolina is treating Allison like she was some crazy person.  I worked with Allison at Lockheed Martin for about 10 years, and know she is smart, patient, and logical.  She might have done something impulsive after months of frustration, but she is no criminal! 

What does it take to reverse a bad judicial decision?  Obviously the adoptive parents have lied to the judge, making it sound like Allison kidnapped the babies when in fact she had legal visitation rights.  What a dirty trick!  Does a citizen of this country have no rights to a fair hearing?

Bob

I am a 32 year old mother of four who is currently 8 weeks pregnant with child number five.  I have suffered with both hyperemesis and its debilitating sidekick ptyalism with every one of my pregnancies for the entire 40 weeks.  I even continue to vomit and spit while delivering.  The ptyalism makes the inside of my mouth taste like rusted metal and there is an overproduction of saliva which forces you to spit all day every day uncontrollably.  The taste makes you nauseous 24 hours a day and disrupts your sleep.

Nobody understands what I have to go through and many people feel that if it were really that bad that I wouldn't have as many children as I do.  I had my first 3 children at the ages of 18, 20, and 24.  No doctor would tie my tubes before I turned 21.  I cannot take birth control pills due to debilitating side effects.  I had my tubes untied at age 30 after my second marriage to a man who had no children of his own. I thought that things would be different because it was a different person but it was actually worse. I had a continuous Zofran pack connected to my thigh for three months until I developed cellulitis which caused a boil to grow on my thigh which later exploded.  Oral Zofran caused sores to appear in my mouth.  I was hospitalized several times and put on steroids and given Phenergan.  My employer was extremely unsupportive and even said during a staff meeting with my coworkers,  "Why the hell would she go and do that again knowing how sick she would get?!"

My husband is self-employed and I'm now trying to hide my pregnancy from my current employer out of fear that I will lose my job, benefits, and home.  I am a paralegal with a law firm and am already referred to as "the woman with all of those children."  Although I put in well over 50 hours each week and am one of the highest performing paralegals with the firm.  I have dropped out of my summer courses for school because I know that I will not be able to complete them as my sickness gets worse.  I am afraid that I will surely lose my job once they find out because I'm losing strength every day.  I don't eat out of fear of vomiting.  I can't eat certain things at all due to the awful taste in my mouth.  I am dehydrated and spend most of my time thinking of how I can get out of this situation without having people think that I'm a bad person.  I sometimes even think of having an "accident" on purpose...but I don't want to leave my other children without a mother.