Fat lady ruled not fit to adopt

miranda1977 · 01-08-2003, 10:49 PM

Hi all - found this on the Sydney Morning Herald website today.

Fat lady ruled not fit to adopt
January 9 2003

A 21-year-old Perth woman says she is not allowed to adopt a baby because the West Australian government told her she is too fat.

Jodie Gaywood, from the Perth suburb of Armadale, is desperate for an infant of her own, but she said at 120kg the state government deemed her too large.

She said the government had rejected her application to adopt a child but approved one by her husband, Jay Gaywood, 26.

"I'm pleased to advise the representative has recommended Mr Gaywood is fit to adopt," Mrs Gaywood quoted a letter from the Department for Community Development as saying.

"Unfortunately, at this time the medical panel representatives are unable to recommended Mrs Gaywood as her body mass index is above the acceptable level."

Mrs Gaywood said the WA government believed she should weigh 98kg or less.

But the distraught young woman explained that a disease prevented her from shedding the excess bulk.

"I have tried to lose weight," Mrs Gaywood said.

"I have polycystic ovary syndrome, and specialists have told me the disease messed with my hormones."

Mrs Gaywood said she had been to a naturopath for help and tried strict diets, but the fat would not shift.

"I exercise every day, sometimes twice a day," she said.

"But it just does not budge (the fat), it's kind of set on that weight."

Mrs Gaywood believes she is being discriminated against.

"Yeah, I'm fat," she said.

"But I have low blood pressure, and I look after children all the time, so why are they stopping me from being a mum?

"They (the state government) should look at cases like mine and understand it's not my fault.

"What if a 98kg lady adopts, and then next year she decides to eat and eat and eat and puts weight on, what are they going to do, take the baby off her?"

The Gaywood couple tried to be part of the IVF program, but a doctor told her that her weight made the program too risky.

AAP

nunu · 01-09-2003, 01:22 AM

Miranda, is this for real? This is awful news. Hopefully, the negative press it will receive will force the government to take a look at this case and the policies surrounding it again. Thanks for posting it.

cyndall_56 · 01-09-2003, 02:32 AM

not to sound to horrible dumb, but what that weight in pounds? Just curious, either way thats terribly unfair!

miranda1977 · 01-09-2003, 03:49 AM

Yep, this is totally true from The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper today - plus I see it has been in other publications because the story originated on AAP.

To convert kgs to pounds you times by 2.2 ie 120kg is equal to 264 pounds. The 98 kg mark they speak of is about 216 pounds.

I agree, it's pretty terrible!! Just think about the bad parents children are born to around the world - and here's a woman discrimnated against because she's overweight (even though the cause of the problem is a recognised illness, they don't seem to care!!).

I hope she's able to fall pregnant herself. Baby dust allround!!!

M

happytoknow · 01-10-2003, 05:24 AM

That is just so wrong! Your weight has nothing to do with how much you can love. What about overweight mothers that conceive? Are they going to come in and take the baby away because of her weight? That is one of the most disgusting, upsetting thing I have seen in a while. It's truly sad.

janniej · 01-14-2003, 11:36 PM

My wife and I were turned down for adoption because she was Deaf.

I do not see why Weight or having a Disability has anything to do with being a parent.

Ronald

Tollee · 01-15-2003, 12:05 AM

I thought I saw this same story on one of those current affairs shows last week - Today Tonight - But I just found the article, and that is a different story... (PCOS actually not mentioned)

A weighty issue for potential mums
REPORTER: Miranda Eastman
BROADCAST DATE: January 8, 2003

Lisa Griffin wants a child of her own but it's a dream that has turned to heartache. Ms Griffin has tried to have children - she has given birth to five premature babies, including twins - but tragically, every tiny life was lost.

Ms Griffin overcame her desperate feeling of loss and decided to try and adopt a child but the response from the Western Australian Government has left her stunned.

It says she is too fat to be a good mother. "Adoption was our last means of ever having a child because I can't have one myself," she said. "Because my husband is a bit overweight and I'm a bit overweight ... they were rejecting our application to adopt."

Ms Griffin weighed about 95kg when she applied to adopt a child, her husband Paul weighed 160kg.

The Department of Community Development says the health risks for overweight people are too high.

"What has our medical conditions, or our weight, got to do with the fact we were going to provide for that child, love it, bring it into a happy environment and everything?" Ms Griffin said.
"And they don't look at things like that."

Ms Griffin was on the waiting list for two and a half years. She says she has been discriminated against.
"I've got a lot of love for a child and I can't have one myself and I can't even adopt one," she said. "So I think all these rules and regulations are totally wrong ... You should look at it as what a family's got to offer."

And it's not just about the size of their bodies; it's also about the size of their wallets.
"Because we're just low-income earners and that, you get shoved to the bottom of the pile and you've sort of got to work your way up the list."

The strain has taken even more of a toll than Ms Griffin could have ever imagined.
"It actually affected my marriage to the fact that I'm now separated, because it's just a big, big burden," she said. "And if you're not strong enough it crumbles around you and that's what's happened to me."

Ms Griffin's estranged husband Paul says he was upset when told by the department that he would have to lose weight to adopt a baby. "They don't really look at the person and the generalisation of the person," he said. "They just look at the outside figure and, 'no, you don't fit the criteria. Go away', basically."

Now with no babies and an estranged husband, Ms Griffin is facing life on her own.
"There's going to be, of course, a gap in my life, because as a small child I've always wanted a child of my own," she said.

Ms Griffin says she has given up hope of ever having a child of her own but she believes the government should change the way it assesses so other potential parents do not miss out.

"You can be fat, skinny, tall, short," she said. "Size, to me - don't go by size. You should go by what the person can offer that child and the love that that child's going to get."