FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 8, 2002 CONTACT: WOMEN UNITED (504) 522-0011, ext. 16 Take out the

Growing numbers of protective, non-offending, caring, loving and fit mothers lose custody of their children every day - DESPITE being good mothers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 8, 2002                                                         CONTACT: WOMEN UNITED
                                                                                                                             (504) 522-0011, ext. 16

Take out the mother from Mothers Day and it is just another day - - or is it?

MOTHER'S DAY 2002                                                                             OPEN MESSAGE TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE

Honorable Senators:

If your children run in and pounce upon you before you awake this Mother's Day, embrace your good fortune with a tighter hug.

Cardinals are not the only leaders in our country enabling the molestation and abuse of our children. In fact, there is a silent holocaust raining tyranny down upon children and mothers in Family Courts across this country. Family (Divorce) Court is big business. There are judges and court appointees - attorneys, child custody evaluators, psychologists and psychiatrists, rather than Cardinals and bishops who decide the fate of victimized children. The only difference between the court and church "players" is that what leaders of the church do to conceal the abusers within the ranks, is done by judges and their appointees in the Family Court System - for MONEY. This is one of America's darkest, most shameful secrets. The problem has taken on epidemic proportions and we call upon our Senators to act swiftly to ensure prompt investigation and revelation of those who are concealing abuse of children for profit. We need help with this crisis which is out of control. We want to be heard and to have these issues addressed openly. Please, for all the Mother's and children make this your top priority.

Growing numbers of protective, non-offending, caring, loving and fit mothers lose custody of their children every day - DESPITE being good mothers, DESPITE a lack of past involvement of the father with the children, and REGARDLESS of being the primary caregiver. Growing numbers of women who divorce and/or seek child support are met with a RETALIATORY suit for child custody; many women who try to leave an abusive husband find that DIVORCE COURT IS A PLACE WHERE THE ABUSE IS ACTUALLY ENABLED TO CONTINUE AND EVEN INCREASED!

Courts not only ignore, but even bar evidence of child abuse , including sexual molestation, and amazingly, the perpetrators the women seek to leave or protect their children from, are increasingly awarded sole custody or unsupervised visitation with the children they have abused. This results in ultimate control over the child victim and an end to fathers' child support obligation. This gives way to the abusers further control of the mother by collecting support from her. Often the huge arrearages owed by fathers are forgiven by the court when fathers are given custody, and many mothers report their support obligation is much more than the father was ever ordered to pay her.

One of us lost all five of her children. Another's daughter was taken by a judge, who years earlier had lost custody of his own children when the court found he had been cruel to the wife who divorced him. One child hanged himself rather than watch his mother jailed for his refusal to visit his dad.

A junk science theory developed by Richard Gardner of Columbia University - a "syndrome" never peer tested and not contained within the DMS-IV called "Parental Alienation Syndrome" or "PAS" is being used as a courtroom tactic to shut the mouths of abused children and mothers who lose custody if sexual abuse is ever alleged whether before, during or after a divorce action. It is now being used across the country to remove custody from loving, safe and fit mothers under a variety of scenarios: domestic violence, child abuse of any sort, reluctance to support flip-flopping shared custody schedules, reluctance to send children on unsupervised visitation with fathers with known anger-management problems, substance abuse problems, poor parenting, etc.

Abused and molested children have lost their voices in court, and big money is paid to court appointees who systematically conceal evidence of abuse, or dismiss the harm done to the child and the likelihood of reoccurrence of the abuse. There exists a pattern of court rulings which reflect that molestation of one's own child (incest) can earn a father sole custody - whereas if the same CRIME had been committed upon the child who lives next door, the same perpetrator would be sentenced to a long prison term. While these re-victimized children lose their mothers, protracted litigation pads the pockets of lawyers, mental health service providers, visitation monitors - all part of the burgeoning billion dollar child taking industry. This issue has grown beyond the bounds of the individual states, because our Constitution is being regularly violated in Family Court.

Dependency court custody and protective orders, designed to protect children, are routinely overturned by peer judges in Family law Courts - Where judges determine what is heard, seen or allowed in their court rooms. It is inevitable that when a government lies to the people, sooner or later the liars need to have a mechanism in place to suppress anyone who might wish to expose the lies--the first amendment be damned.

Mothers who fight for their children lose them -- even when Children's Protective Services substantiate the abuse allegations, hospital reports reflect abnormal physical findings and children testify about their horrendous experiences, fear and pain. One of us produced the documentary Small Justice to graphically explain the injustices which abound in Family Law Court.

Judges punish Mothers by not allowing them to see their children, some for years, many years, and then we live in a special hell, wondering if our children know we did not abandon them, but that we were ordered by courts to leave them behind -- with the abusive parent. One of us stood criminal trial for "kidnapping " our own children -- and the jury who acquitted her admonished the county for the arrest and prosecution. One of our sisters cannot sign this because she is jailed for refusing to turn her children over to a convicted child molester and another awaits sentencing next month. Mothers are illegally jailed and sometimes beaten while there. Some of our phones are tapped, we are fully impoverished by spending life savings and losing employment to keep up with endless court proceedings, entirely impossible child support payments, orders to pay the father's attorney fees, contempt charges, fines and sanctions --and a myriad of other tactics strategically ordered to lead to certain financial ruin of mothers.

This is America FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS. WE ARE LOVING MOTHERS and a very few years ago we were like those of you who may read this letter with disbelief and astonishment. We could be your sister, your business associate, your child's teacher, your next-door neighbor. We are regular women who have walked through hell here on earth, and WE KNOW THAT IT IS NOT JUST CARDINALS AND BISHOPS CONCEALING CHILD ABUSE AND ENABLING AND PROTECTING CHILD ABUSERS AND MOLESTERS. WE KNOW THE VERY SAME THING IS BEING DONE EVERY DAY IN COURTS ACROSS AMERICA - by those sworn to uphold the Constitution - your rights and ours -- your children's rights and our children's rights.

We know this is not a good day to rain on your parade, but it is a very difficult day for many, many mothers across this nation. We think that if the American public could learn more about what so many of us face every day that you will not tolerate it -- realizing it could be you and your family in our shoes. We desperately hope our open public letter will be published and broadcast across the country and that it will cause readers to demand investigations and journalists to expose a "system" which is seriously broken -- so it might be repaired if you ever need it.

Motherhood and childhood in America have indeed changed. We live all over this country. We remember making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, car pooling, leading girl scout projects, countless kids birthday parties, cleaning scraped knees, singing lull-a-byes, gleeful Christmas mornings and even magical Mother's Days - and then suddenly our worlds came to gut wrenching, heart breaking halts. We must now endure the pain that our children are being abused and we are barred from protecting them -- by judges who think that a ruling can terminate motherhood. No ruling or court order can do that.

We are UNITED fighting to protect our children because we are mothers -- like many of you. We MUST FIND SUPPORT to help us regain our children, and prevent other children from losing their mothers.

Please think about what you have read here. We hope that what has happened to us will not ever happen to you or your family and friends. We do sincerely wish all of you a glorious day on May 12 and we hope that each of you will hug your children an extra time -- for those of us who may not see, write, call or hold our children today. If this letter caught your heart, please help by demanding investigation and reforms of the judicial system in your state. Happy Mothers Day - perhaps it will be happier for us and our children next year if you hear and help.

With warm wishes for all of you,

WOMEN UNITED

Lisa Bird, Knoxville, TN

Renee Beeker, Milford, MI

Debra Brezina, Vancouver, WA

Mary Lee Bruno, NJ

Diane & Mike Chojnack, FL

Idelle Clarke, Sierra Madre, CA

Mary Colonna, Pittsburgh, PA

Judy Corcoran, Woodland Hills, CA

Lora & Russell Corson, Charlotte, NC

Mark Evans, Dallas, TX

Maritha Gran, Hurst, TX

Genell Johnson , Byram, NJ

Paige Hodson, Alaska

Robin Karr, Corbin, KY

Victoria Katz, Babylon, NY

Suzanne Kiser, VAElizabeth Krenik, Garland , TX

Paula Linville, Maryland

Rosemary Martin & Family for Brianna, Oneonta, NY

Juva Poindexter, VA

Kelly Price, Pulliman, WA

Kari Schwartz, Rodenkirchen, Germany

Jenny Saint-Amon, Bellevue, WA

Wendy Titleman, New Orleans, LA

Nicole Traphan, Atlanta, GA

Dione Turner, Waleska, GA

Garland Waller, Boston, MA

Tammy Wiggins, Dallas, TX

Marti Woodruff, Sharpsburge, GA

Lee Woodward, Frederick, MD

Jennifer Wooley, Burbank, CA

Robin Yeamans, Attorney, Saratoga, CA

Karen Yun-Lutz, Pittsburg, PA