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Deadbeat Dads Offered Jail or Vasectomy
NEWPORT, Ky. - For some men showing up in court for being habitually behind in child support, their choice is jail or a vasectomy.
Family Court Judge D. Michael "Mickey" Foellger has given the option to a few men who had multiple children and were tens of thousands of dollars behind on their child support.
Foellger said he considers it an effective way to get his message across ? that having children is a responsibility.
"If these children are in poverty because these guys are not paying their child support, I have no qualms about it," he said of his policy. "I don't think these men deserve to have any more children."
Foellger, the only family court judge in northern Kentucky's Campbell County, said he has never ordered a man to have a vasectomy.
But for some men, the option is made clear: Go to jail for 30 days, or have the vasectomy. The option applies to men who have had more than four children with at least three different women, and who owe more than $10,000 in court-ordered support.
Foellger believes he can legally give the ultimatum because the men are in contempt for not paying the child support, and a judge has wide latitude to enforce his orders. In such instances, the child-support cases are civil, not criminal.
In his 17 months on the family court bench, Foellger said, he has made the proposal six or seven times. Two men reported back with doctors' notes saying they had the procedure. Three or four others are in the process of doing so. One chose jail time.
None of the men has appealed his orders.
Attorneys who practice domestic law in Campbell County were either not aware of Foellger's policy or were unwilling to comment on it.
Beth Wilson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) in Kentucky, said the policy is questionable.
Wilson said that getting men to pay child support is right and just. But suggesting sterilization is going too far, Wilson said.
"The government should not be able to coerce anyone ? whether directly or indirectly ? to give up your constitutional protections," she said. "We're opposed to any type of sterilization that's forced or coerced by any government agency."
Foellger said he had considered offering women accused of multiple instances of abuse or neglect the option of having a tubal ligation. But he rejected that, saying it's an invasive procedure that could have unknown consequences.
A vasectomy, on the other hand, is simple and reversible, he said.
Deadbeat Dads Offered Jail or Vasectomy
NEWPORT, Ky. - For some men showing up in court for being habitually behind in child support, their choice is jail or a vasectomy.
Family Court Judge D. Michael "Mickey" Foellger has given the option to a few men who had multiple children and were tens of thousands of dollars behind on their child support.
Foellger said he considers it an effective way to get his message across ? that having children is a responsibility.
"If these children are in poverty because these guys are not paying their child support, I have no qualms about it," he said of his policy. "I don't think these men deserve to have any more children."
Foellger, the only family court judge in northern Kentucky's Campbell County, said he has never ordered a man to have a vasectomy.
But for some men, the option is made clear: Go to jail for 30 days, or have the vasectomy. The option applies to men who have had more than four children with at least three different women, and who owe more than $10,000 in court-ordered support.
Foellger believes he can legally give the ultimatum because the men are in contempt for not paying the child support, and a judge has wide latitude to enforce his orders. In such instances, the child-support cases are civil, not criminal.
In his 17 months on the family court bench, Foellger said, he has made the proposal six or seven times. Two men reported back with doctors' notes saying they had the procedure. Three or four others are in the process of doing so. One chose jail time.
None of the men has appealed his orders.
Attorneys who practice domestic law in Campbell County were either not aware of Foellger's policy or were unwilling to comment on it.
Beth Wilson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) in Kentucky, said the policy is questionable.
Wilson said that getting men to pay child support is right and just. But suggesting sterilization is going too far, Wilson said.
"The government should not be able to coerce anyone ? whether directly or indirectly ? to give up your constitutional protections," she said. "We're opposed to any type of sterilization that's forced or coerced by any government agency."
Foellger said he had considered offering women accused of multiple instances of abuse or neglect the option of having a tubal ligation. But he rejected that, saying it's an invasive procedure that could have unknown consequences.
A vasectomy, on the other hand, is simple and reversible, he said.
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