SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah court has ruled that a 2-year-old child’s right to his mother outweighs the demands of a woman unrelated to the boy who sought parental rights. ADF-allied attorney Frank D. Mylar represented the boy and his mother, a woman who ended her relationship with the other woman and is now married.
“The fundamental rights of parents to raise children the way they see fit should not be threatened by the wishes and desires of a legal stranger,” said Mylar. “The court correctly ruled that this little boy’s right to his mother under state law is of far greater value than the wishes of someone who has no legal relationship to the child.”
In 2006, Jana Dickson gave birth to her son while in a relationship with Gena-Louise Edvalson. After their break-up in 2007, Edvalson sued for parental rights to the child relying upon an unenforceable “agreement” the two women had made during their relationship. The court dismissed the lawsuit,
Edvalson v. Dickson, ruling that state public policy designed to protect the best interests of children trumps any such “agreements” that people make, especially when there are no allegations of abuse or neglect.
“The Utah Supreme Court has held that contracts that offend public policy are void.... Therefore, while people are generally free to bind themselves to any contract, those contracts which are contrary to public policy are illegal and void,” wrote Third Judicial District Court Judge L.A. Dever in his
ruling issued June 30.
The court further explained that the “unambiguous language” of Utah law made the “agreement” illegal and void from the moment it was created “as it directly offends the State’s public policy that parents retain the fundamental right to exercise the primary control over the care and supervision of their children.”
“A parent’s fundamental right and responsibility to raise and care for her child cannot be bargained away or lost through contract,” Mylar explained. “A parent has a constitutional right, supported by Utah public policy, to determine what is best for her child as time and circumstances dictate.”
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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