I

Jewish Activists
Fight For Child

Rep. Gubow

w

est Bloomfield par-
ent Lois Raitt and
state Rep. David
Gubow, D-Huntington
Woods, are on similar
yet separate paths to
help protect the rights of
2-year-old Jessica
DeBoer.
Interestingly enough,
however, they don't
know each other.
Jessica has been
thrust into the middle of
a legal mess. Her biologi-
cal parents, Cara and
Dan Schmidt of Iowa,
and her would-be adop-
tive parents, Roberta
and Jan DeBoer of Ann
Arbor, are fighting for
her custody.
Unfortunately for the
Ann Arbor couple, who
have raised the girl and
have been engaged in
adoption . proceedings
since she was two weeks
old, some technical
points in Michigan adop-
tion law forbid third par-
ties to petition for cus-
tody. The state defines
the DeBoers as a third
party.
Mrs. Raitt doesn't like
the situation at all. Mr.
Gubow doesn't either.

"I have never in my
entire life done anything
because I saw something
happening to a
stranger," Mrs. Raitt
says. "This just got to
me. It broke my heart.
How can this happen?"
Mrs. Raitt, of West
Bloomfield, is asking the
Jewish community to
sign petitions advocating
for the rights of the
DeBoers. She wants
everyone to call state
legislators and Gov.
John Engler, asking for
the passage of pending
legislation granting
adoptive parents more
rights when these situa-
tions arise.
As chair of the House
Special
Adoption
Subcommittee,
Mr.
Gubow has been working
for years on legislation
that would protect the
rights of adopted chil-
dren and adoptive par-
ents.
In the past few weeks,
Mrs. Raitt has called
everyone she knows, and
many she doesn't yet
know, to muster support
for Jessica, whom she
calls an innocent victim
of selfish biological par-
ents.
While Mrs. Raitt is
engaging in grass-roots
efforts to boost aware-
ness for the young girl,
Mr. Gubow's office phone
in Lansing doesn't stop
ringing. Callers from all
over the state (and many
from Iowa) have been
flooding his lines, bom-
barding his fax machine,
asking that he expedite
state legislation that he
introduced last year and
reintroduced this ses-

sion.

The bill would restore
third-party rights to
bring petitions for cus-
tody. These rights were

Parties and Jewish Law

A

taken away by a recent
Michigan Supreme Court
decision.
Meanwhile, session is
out and Mr. Gubow is on
vacation. The bill, still in
committee, should be
scheduled for a hearing
by the end of the month.
Mrs. Raitt has posted
notices in offices of those
people she knows best.
She has sent money for
the child's legal defense
fund. And she will con-
tinue to get involved,
even if it means going to
political rallies — some-
thing she never envi-
sioned.
A hotline is available
for those who want to
support young Jessica.
For information, call 1-
313-741-4171.

re you a Republican?
Are you a Democrat?
Perhaps you vote
independent. Have you
ever considered Jewish
law when wandering into
a voting booth?
If you answered yes to
any of the above ques-
tions, you may consider
participating in a little
unconventional discus-
sion with William
Helmreich, chairman
of the sociology depart-
ment and professor of
Jewish studies at the
City University of New
York.
On April 27, Professor
Helmreich, who studies
Jewish trends in
America, will tackle
the subject: "Does Jewish
law require us to be
Democrats or Repub-
licans?"
The answer to the
topic's question isn't so

Partrich Mixes
Sports & Politics

he Michigan Wo-
men's Foundation, a
T nonprofit organiza-
tion committed to
helping women gain
financial independence,
will honor fitness
enthusiast Myrna
Partrich at this year's
Women In Athletics
gala.
Time, date and cost
of the fund-raiser have
not been announced,
but many women and
supporters of women's
causes last week
received invitations to
an April 29 cocktail
reception for the
Foundation at the home
of Florine Mark.
There is no catch,
and there is no cost.
Ms. Mark has hosted
many events (several
for women's groups) at
her Franklin home.
Though she says she is
not too political, she

Myrna Partrich

enjoys
supporting
women who try to make
a difference.
"I'm just a woman
who wants to help peo-
ple help themselves,"
Ms. Mark says. "A lot of
women want to make
this country a better
place to live. And I
think it is important
that women be given a
chance to do so."

Professor Helmreich

simple,
Professor
Helmreich says. But the
subject has prompted
many curious phone calls
to the sponsoring organi-
zation, the Lubavitch
Foundation, for more
details on the program.
"Jewish law has some-
thing to say about every-
thing," says Rabbi
Herschel Finman, pro-
gram organizer.
And the answer to the
question is, according to
Professor Helmreich,
that Jewish law is up to
interpretation.
"You can find sources
that can tell you both,"
he says. "Whether or not
God is liberal or conserv-
ative is not what I have
the inside track on. But I
really think an argument
can be made for both
ways.
"Think of it like this,"
he suggests. "Jews have
always been told we are
to care, which is liberal,
and the fact that we
choose to be Jewish
implies a certain conser-
vatism."
Still curious? The pro-
gram, which includes a —
kosher lunch for a fee, cy-;
begins at noon at the
Max Fisher Building in
Bloomfield Hills. For 0-
information, call the <
Lubavitch Foundation at 55
737-7000. CI