There is a young woman in Ohio, Stephanie Bennett, who is going to court on Friday, the 19th of January, appearing before a magistrate to present evidence as to whether or not her surrender can be overturned. Her daughter, Baby Evelyn Bennett, was almost 5 months old when she went to her high school guidance counselor and he not only convinced her to surrender her daughter to adoption, but made the initial contact with the agency. Even though Stephanie is 17 and a minor, no one contacted her parents, Judy and Ranza Bennett. The agency recommended that Stephanie run away from home to another county where her parents could not find her to surrender the baby for adoption. Stephanie's parents were awarded, in court, custody of not only Stephanie, but the baby, Evelyn. However, the agency has refused to release the information as to where Evelyn is located. The people who have Evelyn called the Bennett's home and told them that the agency had recommended to them that they hide Evelyn as long as they possibly could, and that is what they are doing. The grandparents STILL have custody, by law, but they can't do anything about it, since they don't know where she is. I am including the link to the story in the newspaper.
The women who run this agency are the same ones who provided the baby for the Barbara Walters baby lottery on television a couple years ago, and also the same women who placed the children in the home of the Gravelles, the Ohio couple who kept their 11 adopted children in cages. The agency is owned by the Assistant Superintendent of schools, who resigned in last week.
On Friday, when Stephanie goes to court, there will be some women who will be there to show support, including Celeste Billharts, Fran Scalise, and Jess DelBalzo. It will be at 9:00 a.m. at the Summitt County Courthouse in Akron, OH. If you can attend, please do. The more support we can muster for this young woman and her family the better. The press is going to be there, so we can make an impact. If you know anyone in the area that can attend, please bring them along.
No comments:
Post a Comment