Arthur Blair v. Marilyn Badenhope- Dissenting

With today’s holding, the majority declares, essentially, that a parent who voluntarily surrenders custody of a child forfeits any right to custody and  from that day forward is shorn of parental status and relegated to a status no better than that of a non-parent, should the parent petition to modify the custody decree. I cannot agree. In my view, this decision condescendingly brushes aside the fundamental and constitutionally-grounded principle  that a parent has a right to raise a child without undue governmental  interference. Likewise, the holding disregards the presumption, widely recognized in law, that a child’s best interests are served most effectively,  where possible, by placement with a fit parent. The majority’s holding places far too little weight on the parent’s fitness to care for the child or the parent’s efforts, no matter how extensive or admirable, to foster and nurture a loving bond with the child. Moreover, my views aside, the majority misapplies its own analysis to reach a result I find to be unsupportable and unjust. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.