Senator Grothman (R-WI) just introduced a bill that would name single parenthood a factor in child abuse. What it boils down to is bashing single parents.
Just last year, Grothman suggested that single parents were out to bilk the government in their decisions to have children, and now he wants to make them appear more responsible for child abuse than other factors.
Single parenthood often results from parents trying to prevent abuse, but this bill might encourage abuse by discouraging parents from ending violent marriages.
Another cause of divorce is money stress, stress that piles up on those with single-family incomes. But with the kind of bashing this bill promotes, single parents will likely get even less support in the future.
Rather than pushing a bill that blames victims of a non-supportive system, Grothman should introduce bills to end economic injustice and support single parents.
Tell Wisconsin, Don't Declare Single Parenthood Child Abuse.
We, the undersigned, believe Grothman's Bill 507 is misdirected.
It connects single-parenting to child abuse and neglect, but neglects, itself, to address the true causes.
Single parents in our society are overstressed, underpaid, and under-supported. They already deal with a degree of society-imposed guilt, without the Wisconsin Legislature working to increase that guilt and burden.
Passing this bill may lead to serious and unexpected repercussions. One might be that state agencies will feel they have authority, simply based upon the
implication of abuse and neglect, to remove children from singe-parent homes and place them in foster homes, where a GAO Report has just confirmed they are likely to be placed on high doses of numerous psychotropic drugs.
Passing this bill may also discourage victims of domestic abuse from leaving the abusive spouse, thus adding to the cycle of abuse, indicated by the 1996 report ("Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family," APA, 1996).
Finally, not of insignificant concern is the documented bias of the author of this bill, Senator Grothman, against single parenthood. His website article titled, "How the United States and the State of Wisconsin are Working to Encourage Single Motherhood...." asserts that the "Left and the social welfare establishment want children born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government."
Grothman's conclusion that the rise of single motherhood has been driven by "all the financial benefits low-income mothers receive," shows he has no idea what it's like to be the recipient of these "benefits," which, at best, give struggling single parents an income below poverty level. It shows he is completely out of touch with reality.
Defend Wisconsin adds that, according to Grothman, liberals want people to be poor and use these programs, because they are there.
We request that you reject this biased Bill, based on a false premise, and instead do something positive to support, rather than blame, single parents.
Thank you for your attention to these concerns.
