Dreisbach & Sons

Company

Supporters Of Jessica
Promise A Fight

24600 Grand River Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48219

(313) 531-2600

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Carrie Waterstone with messages of suppoort.

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arrie Waterstone still
finds it painful to look
at pictures of Jessica
DeBoer.
"This one is so hard," she
says, holding a flier that
shows a photo, split by a
large crack, of Jessica and
Roberta DeBoer. "We never
thought it would really hap-
pen."
The case — in which
Jessica's biological parents
regained custody of their
daughter after she had lived
for two years with her adop-
tive parents, Jan and
Roberta DeBoer of Ann
Arbor — ended weeks ago.
But for Ms. Waterstone, of
Southfield, the battle for chil-
dren's rights is just begin-
ning.
"We know we can't make
everything better by tomor-
row," she says. "It may take
six months; it may take six
years. We'll be here."
Mrs. Waterstone is one of
four Jewish women (includ-
ing Annie Rose, Marci
Feinberg and Lois Raitt)
active in the new Jessica
DeBoer Committee for
Children's Rights. With a
founding group of about 20
members, the committee is
based in Ann Arbor and has
branches throughout the
United States. Its goal is to
guarantee increased rights
for custodial parents. Its slo-
gan is, "Never Another
Jessi."
Laws vary from state to
state, but often allow biologi-
cal parents tremendous
leeway in regaining custody
of children they have placed
up for adoption. Members of
the Jessica DeBoer
Committee say it is unfair
that the laws seem to go
overboard in accommodating

biological parents, with no
consideration for the child's
best interest. They ask, is it
healthy for a child who
spends years with loving
adoptive parents, becomes
rooted in a community and
establishes habits and rou-
tines, to suddenly be pulled
from that home?
"Biology," Mrs. Waterstone
says, "does not make a fami-
ly."
Mrs. Waterstone, a mem-
ber of Temple Emanu-El,
became interested in the
issue while watching a news
report on Jessica DeBoer.
She was troubled to hear
that Jessica's biological
father, Dan Schmidt, had lit-
tle or no contact with his
other two children. The
mother of two girls, Mrs.
Waterstone also found her-
self empathizing with the
DeBoers. "I couldn't imagine
my own children being taken
from me," she said.

"Biology does not
make a family."

Carrie Waterstone

She attended a Justice for
Jessi rally, then became an
active member of the cam-
paign to help the DeBoers
keep their daughter.
One of the group's first —
and most frustrating — pro-
jects was securing the sup-
port of Michigan politicians.
Sen. Jack Welborn, R-
Kalamazoo, was especially
helpful, and Mrs. Waterstone
notes that Michigan
Supreme Court Justice
Charles Levin dissented from
the court's view that Jessi
should be returned to the

