Military Parents Fight for Custodial Rights

August 13, 2009

A woman who claims that her daughter’s custody was taken from her because of her military service has been meeting with politicians to pass a bill that would protect the custody rights of those in the service of the United States. The woman, Lieutenant Eva Slusher, says that she was in contact with several other parents who would say that judges would tell them flat-out that a military lifestyle was not conducive to raising children.

Slusher believes that this practice is discriminatory and that parents should not be punished for their service to the country. She has spoken with congressional representative Michael Turner of Ohio who helped her create a bill. This bill passed through the House of Representatives easily and is now going on for review in the Senate.

Slusher spent two years and close to $25,000 to regain custody of her 10-year-old daughter. She said, “You have to balance doing what’s right in your hear and knowing that the time spent away from your child is for the greater good.”