http://www.standard.net/topics/ethan-stacy/2010/05/19/ethans-law-may-be-works-keep-tragedy-recurring
Ethan's Law may be in the works to keep tragedy from recurring
By
Greg Jordan (Bluefield (Va.) Daily Telegraph)
Last Edit: May 19 2010 - 11:28pm
GRUNDY, Va. -- As mourners left the funeral of Ethan Stacy, who died after days of abuse, some were thinking about how they could prevent such a tragedy from happening again. One possibly is Ethan's Law.
Four-year-old Ethan died May 9 in Layton while on a summertime visit to his mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27. A Florida judge made the visits part of her divorce settlement with Ethan's biological father, Joe G. Stacy, of Richlands, Va.
Stephanie Sloop and her current husband, Nathan Sloop, 31, are being held without bond in Davis County Jail in the boy's death. They are facing the possibility of being charged with aggravated murder, which could carry the death penalty or life imprisonment.
In divorce papers, Joe Stacy said Ethan's mother was unstable and had abandoned their son. Judge Maura T. Smith, who officiated over the case in Orlando (Fla.) Circuit Court, later said that she had not read the father's statement and simply approved the final divorce and custody agreement.
Some people who knew Ethan now want to create a federal law that would apply due process if a parent who abandoned his or her child wants to regain custody and have visitation rights.
full article at link.
http://www.standard.net/topics/ethan-stacy/2010/05/19/ethans-law-may-be-works-keep-tragedy-recurring
The meaning behind this is great, but what I know of family court laws it is unlikely something like this, as suggested in the article would pass. Based on my own experience, in IL, for a parent to claim abandonment they must prove the other parent had access to and no attempt at contact in any form must exceed two years. Even then, it is difficult to prove because the non custodial parent could easily say they were denied access. Also, it is my understanding if a parent is even paying child support - and has no contact with the child - that is still grounds for 'contact' which negates the abandonment issue.
JMO