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Elizabeth Hadaway, with daughter Emma.
(Photo courtesy Elizabeth Hadaway)
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: Dyana Bagby
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The court struggle for a lesbian to adopt her acquaintance’s daughter appeared to come to a final end March 24. A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision finding Elizabeth Hadaway in criminal contempt after the child was not returned to her biological mother, who wanted Hadaway to raise her.
“We’re pleased that the court has agreed with us that Elizabeth Hadaway shouldn’t do jail time simply for doing the right thing for her child, but it’s unfortunate that it’s taken almost two years of court proceedings to end up with things where Elizabeth, Emma, and Emma’s biological mom wanted them to be in the first place,” Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement.
The child’s mother asked Hadaway to take custody of the little girl, Emma, in May 2006. On Jan. 12, 2007, Wilkinson County Superior Court Judge John Lee Parrot denied the adoption because Hadaway is gay and ordered her to return Emma to her biological mother within 10 days.
Hadaway said she met with the mother to return Emma, but the biological mother again insisted Hadaway raise her. Parrot then ordered Emma into foster care and sentenced Hadaway and her attorney to 10 days in jail, or five days in jail and a $500 fine, after learning they filed a petition for adoption of Emma in Bibb County.
In April, the ACLU filed a habeus corpus lawsuit in Wilkinson County arguing Emma was being illegally detained by the state’s foster care system. The effort was victorious, reversing Parrott’s ruling and returning Emma to Hadaway’s care.
With the contempt charge now behind her, Hadaway said this week she just wants to enjoy raising her daughter.
“I’m just so grateful that the court has lifted this burden so we can move on and I can keep focused on making sure Emma has a happy home and a good life,” Hadaway said.
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