W.J.M. v. J.B.

I respectfully dissent. This may be a close case, but close cases, combined with our de novo review, ought to be decided in favor of a parent’s constitutionally protected right to maintain a parent-child relationship. The remedy for nonpayment of child support is a request for a support order, not termination of parental rights. We have not rid ourselves of debtor prisons only to substitute for that Dickensian horror, the termination of the debtor’s parental rights. See generally George Muhar, “Incarceration and Termination of Parental Rights,” 12 J.Juv.L. 70 (1991) [contending incarcerated…