Update 10/4/2002: The judge ruled in the mother's favor and the children will NOT be receiving cochlear implants.
If I was a noncustodial parent whose child was in foster care and my child was blind or could not walk, and the authorities offered my child a chance through surgery to see or walk, I would want that for my child. It would mean a better quality of life for my child if he could see or walk. However, I would not want my child subjected to surgery even if I supported it, without my being asked first.
But that is exactly what is happening now. A deaf parent whose deaf children are in foster care at the moment, is fighting to prevent her children from being given cochlear implants against her wishes. The children's father also opposes the implants. What makes this different from the example of the child unable to see or walk, is that deafness does not by itself affect a person's quality of life. A deaf person whose only disability is deafness, can do anything except hear, in the famous words of Gallaudet University president King Jordan.
The Facts
- A deaf mother, Lee Larson, has deaf children in foster care since about October 2001 due to a charge of neglect. (The charge: leaving her children in the care of another deaf person while she traveled for a week) She has been working towards reunification, which is the primary objective of foster care.
- While in foster care, the deaf children have been attending an oral program. The oral program's administrators and the foster care agency have suggested the children be implanted.
- Larson does not want her children to be implanted. She did consider implantation but decided against it.
- The boys' attorney argues that the children must be implanted soon to get the full benefit.
- The judge in the case ordered the children to be evaluated for implantation on October 4 - on the same day that the trial resumes. On that day, the judge will also decide if the neglect charges can be dropped and the family reunited.
The Activists
As expected, deaf people internationally, deaf organizations, and civil rights organizations are getting involved in this case. Activists tried to raise funds to assist the mother's defense, and for an effective protest scheduled for the last day of the trial, October 4. Organizers set up a Yahoo groups mailing list, Gr_deafprotest. The Grand Rapids Press, a Michigan newspaper, followed the case.
It is this guide's opinion that even if Lee Larson's family is not reunited by court decree on October 4, that the children should not be implanted as long as her parental rights have not been severed permanently. This is not a cochlear implant issue but a parental rights issue. Just because a child is in foster care does not mean that foster care agencies, foster parents, and schools can do whatever they want to the child. To implant Lee Larson's children against her wishes while they are in foster care, is in effect saying to the mother, "these are not your children anymore" when nothing could be further from the truth.
Archived Articles on Larson Case
The following archived web articles on the Larson case are available:- The Cochlear Implant Trial - from the Ragged Edge Online, a disability e-zine
| Pro-Implant | Anti-Implant |
| Kathleen Feeney - the Judge | Lee Larson – Wyoming biological mother. Feels implants not safe. |
| Shawnee Park School - School attended by boys in foster care. Administrators want boys implanted. | Biological father – Against implanting. |
| Bethany Christian Services - foster care agency. | David Gersch - Larson's attorney. Said if children are implanted before being returned, they could be neglected because parental involvement is key to CI success. |
| Kevin Bramble - Assistant prosecutor. | Michigan Deaf Association - Raised funds to bring expert witness to testify. |
| Joe Tevlin - Attorney representing boys. | |
| Prosecution expert witnesses testifying that implants are necessary for language development.. |
