Do you think is right to refuse adoption or take a baby away from a parent because he/she may be obese?
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Gary Stocklaufer, a 34-year-old truck driver, and his wife claim a judge unfairly discriminated against them because of his weight in deciding to give 4-month-old Max to another couple for possible adoption. The infant from Arlington, who is related to the Stocklaufers, had lived with them since he was a week old. This is considered the first case where a couple seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery in the increasingly prevalent practice of denying parents adoptions because they are obese, several adoption experts said. Missouri officials would not confirm the reason Max was removed from the Stocklaufers' home, citing the confidentiality of ongoing court proceedings in adoption cases. Stocklaufer, of Independence, Mo., dieted before the surgery and weighed 480 pounds when he entered the Renaissance Hospital in Dallas for the pro bono operation that could help him shed more than half his bulk. "They have legally kidnapped this child," Cindy Stocklaufer said Friday as her husband recovered from surgery. "There's no guarantee losing the weight will change anything, but we have to try." The Jackson County (Mo.) court is required "to consider the welfare and best interests of the child" which is a "complicated determination," court spokeswoman Kelley Carpenter said in an e-mail. An adoptive parent's health is one of the factors considered by investigators at the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the department's communications director, Ana Margarita Compain-Romero. She could not comment on the specifics of the case... |