SJC: Foreign Nationals' Parental Rights Can Be Ended
Originally published by The Associated Press, May 4, 2002
BOSTON (AP) — The Supreme Judicial Court, ruling on a case of child genital mutilation, said the state can strip foreign nationals of their parental rights once a juvenile court determines they aren't properly caring for their children.
The unanimous ruling released Friday stems from a case of genital mutilation performed on a 3-year-old girl from India while she was living with her father and stepmother in Framingham in 1999.
The father, Srinivas Timmareddy, was sentenced to one year in prison for inflicting harm on a child. The stepmother, Hiramat Meenakshi, received a two-year sentence.
Prosecutors were never able to determine who committed the act also called female circumcision, and there was never any indication it had cultural significance for the couple.
The Department of Social Services took custody of the child after doctors discovered the injuries and placed her with foster parents, who now want to adopt her.
A juvenile court judge terminated Timmareddy's parental rights, and he sued, arguing in part the court had no authority to judge his fitness as a parent because he's not a US citizen.
Writing for the court, Justice John M. Greaney said state law requires the courts to protect children regardless of their citizenship.
He also said the courts should be guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, even though the 1989 international agreement hasn't been ratified by the United States.
"The paramount consideration of (social service) agencies placing children in adoptive homes, whether in their country of origin or abroad, must be 'the best interest of the child,'" Greaney wrote. "The principles of children's rights, as expressed in the convention … are in total agreement with the termination of the father's parental rights."
Warren Yanoff, the Worcester attorney representing the girl's interests, told The Boston Globe the girl's future is unclear because the adoption hasn't been approved by a Probate and Family Court and the prospective parents haven't decided how to deal with immigration questions.
