Man Denied Adoption Has Gastric Bypass
A man who weighed 558 pounds when a judge prevented him from adopting a child he and his wife had taken into their home underwent gastric bypass surgery in a bid to win the child back.
Gary Stocklaufer, a 34-year-old truck driver, and his wife claim a judge unfairly discriminated against them because of his weight in deciding to give 4-month-old Max to another couple for possible adoption. The infant from Arlington, Texas, who is related to the Stocklaufers, had lived with them since he was a week old.
This is considered the first case where a couple seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery in the increasingly prevalent practice of denying parents adoptions because they are obese, several adoption experts said.
Officials in Missouri, where the Stocklaufers are from and where the judge's ruling was made, would not confirm the reason Max was removed from the couple's home, citing the confidentiality of ongoing court proceedings in adoption cases.
But Stocklaufer told CBS Station KTVT correspondent Jack Fink that the judge felt, "I wouldn't live long enough to see the child grown, to raise the child."
Stocklaufer dieted before the surgery and weighed 480 pounds when he entered the Renaissance Hospital in Dallas for the operation that could help him shed more than half his bulk.
Renaissance Hosptial and Dr. Wade Barker heard about Stocklaufer's story and wanted to help, so they offered to perform gastric bypass surgery on Stocklaufer free of charge. "Dr. Barker, Renaissance Hospital, are happy to do this," said hospital spokeswoman Angie Flores. "They know the injustice that he has been through," hospital spokeswoman Angie Flores told Fink.
"They have legally kidnapped this child," Cindy Stocklaufer said Friday as her husband recovered from surgery. "There's no guarantee losing the weight will change anything, but we have to try."
"Failure is not an option," Gary Stocklaufer told Fink.
The Jackson County court in Missouri is required "to consider the welfare and best interests of the child" which is a "complicated determination," court spokeswoman Kelley Carpenter said in an e-mail.
An adoptive parent's health is one of the factors considered by investigators at the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the department's communications director, Ana Margarita Compain-Romero. She could not comment on the specifics of the case.
James Waits, a lawyer for the couple taking care of Max, declined to comment. Max is in adoptive placement with the couple, Cindy Stocklaufer said.
The Stocklaufers have been married 15 years and are licensed by the state of Missouri as foster parents and cared for children. In November 2000, they adopted another relative, 8-year-old Robert. The same judge who denied their petition to adopt Max approved Robert's adoption after multiple house visits and background checks, Cindy Stocklaufer said.
Even then, her husband weighed more than 500 pounds. "They never even mentioned it when we adopted Bobby, and he was the same size," she said.
Lee Allen, vice president of the National Council for Adoption, said he believes the court has forgotten the best interest of the child in this case, considering the Stocklaufers are the boy's relatives chosen as parents by the birth mother with a previous successful adoption.
"What I'm really, really impressed with is the fact that this man is willing to go to whatever lengths to adopt Max and raise him," he said.
More and more American agencies have started considering the weight of adoption applicants as they place children, said Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center, though definitions of dangerous obesity vary by state agency.
The regulations are designed to insure permanency for the child, she said.
In May, the Chinese government began considering the body mass index of American parents when screening couples' eligibility for international adoption.
MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Gary Stocklaufer, a 34-year-old truck driver, and his wife claim a judge unfairly discriminated against them because of his weight in deciding to give 4-month-old Max to another couple for possible adoption. The infant from Arlington, Texas, who is related to the Stocklaufers, had lived with them since he was a week old.
This is considered the first case where a couple seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery in the increasingly prevalent practice of denying parents adoptions because they are obese, several adoption experts said.
Officials in Missouri, where the Stocklaufers are from and where the judge's ruling was made, would not confirm the reason Max was removed from the couple's home, citing the confidentiality of ongoing court proceedings in adoption cases.
But Stocklaufer told CBS Station KTVT correspondent Jack Fink that the judge felt, "I wouldn't live long enough to see the child grown, to raise the child."
Stocklaufer dieted before the surgery and weighed 480 pounds when he entered the Renaissance Hospital in Dallas for the operation that could help him shed more than half his bulk.
Renaissance Hosptial and Dr. Wade Barker heard about Stocklaufer's story and wanted to help, so they offered to perform gastric bypass surgery on Stocklaufer free of charge. "Dr. Barker, Renaissance Hospital, are happy to do this," said hospital spokeswoman Angie Flores. "They know the injustice that he has been through," hospital spokeswoman Angie Flores told Fink.
"They have legally kidnapped this child," Cindy Stocklaufer said Friday as her husband recovered from surgery. "There's no guarantee losing the weight will change anything, but we have to try."
"Failure is not an option," Gary Stocklaufer told Fink.
The Jackson County court in Missouri is required "to consider the welfare and best interests of the child" which is a "complicated determination," court spokeswoman Kelley Carpenter said in an e-mail.
An adoptive parent's health is one of the factors considered by investigators at the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the department's communications director, Ana Margarita Compain-Romero. She could not comment on the specifics of the case.
James Waits, a lawyer for the couple taking care of Max, declined to comment. Max is in adoptive placement with the couple, Cindy Stocklaufer said.
The Stocklaufers have been married 15 years and are licensed by the state of Missouri as foster parents and cared for children. In November 2000, they adopted another relative, 8-year-old Robert. The same judge who denied their petition to adopt Max approved Robert's adoption after multiple house visits and background checks, Cindy Stocklaufer said.
Even then, her husband weighed more than 500 pounds. "They never even mentioned it when we adopted Bobby, and he was the same size," she said.
Lee Allen, vice president of the National Council for Adoption, said he believes the court has forgotten the best interest of the child in this case, considering the Stocklaufers are the boy's relatives chosen as parents by the birth mother with a previous successful adoption.
"What I'm really, really impressed with is the fact that this man is willing to go to whatever lengths to adopt Max and raise him," he said.
More and more American agencies have started considering the weight of adoption applicants as they place children, said Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center, though definitions of dangerous obesity vary by state agency.
The regulations are designed to insure permanency for the child, she said.
In May, the Chinese government began considering the body mass index of American parents when screening couples' eligibility for international adoption.
MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report
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I am 52. I spent my whole school years in foster homes abused ones. I used to cry to sleep in them. My room mate can still hear me crying in my sleep and once asked me about it. I was unawared I cried in my sleep. I feel for the children. Best to them and I wish them the beat in this fight. BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.
I am 52. I spent my whole school years in foster homes abused ones. I used to cry to sleep in them. My room mate can still hear me crying in my sleep and once asked me about it. I was unawared I cried in my sleep. I feel for the children. Best to them and I wish them the beat in this fight. BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.
http://open.adoptionblogs.com/index.php/weblogs/a-blue-ribbon-for-baby-max
Gary is to have had his surgery at this time, all prayers are appreciated by this family!
So what''s the problem now, Judge? Not like he
was 180 pounds when you approved Robert''s adoption. It''s not like the man is refusing to
do anything about his obesity. Not like he''s sitting on the coach shovelling Twinkies & donuts in his mouth saying, "Screw you, Judge."
It''s all about whether you love the kids & will put them first in your life.
Does the judge have any personal relationship with the "winning" couple ?
This seems like another example of judges making things up as they go along. I for one fear such a system- both arbritory and costly. Look at these two celbrities, getting no jail time. what would have happen to you or me or our kids. Besides harsh penaly, Felony, and probably kicked out of school and jobs for life. Look at OJ. Look at some poor guys freed after years on death row.
He must really love the child if he went through the gastric bypass surgery. Leave ''em alone.
1. They HAVE BEEN THE PARENTS for four months.
2. Strong bonds and feelings are already in place, with ALL family members.
3. THEY ARE Family and there is the precedence of having allowed them to adopt the other boy by the SAME JUDGE.
4. Why is the other family already in the process of adopting this child when there are appeals in the works?
5. GIVE HIM BACK.
As others have said, it''s hard enough to find people willing to adopt babies more than a week old, why make it even harder for them based on MAYBE MIGHT BE''s? I know of many very obese people who lived long, full lives. Some people are just built BIG. This man looks like one of them. Is the pendulum of our prickly, politically-correct, don''t-blame-people-for-being-born-what-they-were society finally swinging the other direction?