Gigi Jordan, a Manhattan millionaire, poisoned her autistic son with prescription meds, claiming that she was saving him from rape orgies perpetrated by the child’s father and stepfather. Both men deny the allegations, which suggest that Ms. Jordan is clinically psychotic.
Although it is not always possible to protect children from the criminally insane, the American assumption that a child is always safest with its mother ought to be reevaluated. In many – probably most – instances of severe neglect or abuse leading to a child’s death, the child was in the custody of its mother. Given that custody of children is awarded to mothers almost as though by default, this is hardly surprising.
A great number of fathers have exerted enormous effort to regain custody of their children when the mother has proven herself to be wholly unfit for parenting. The custody bar is set so high for men that a woman with a severe drinking or drug problem will usually still get custody simply by promising to go to rehab, which is usually unsuccessful in achieving full remission, even when the father of the child is a sober, responsible man.
There is no doubt that this overwhelming mother bias in custody decisions has cost the life – not to mention the future – of many a child. When a woman is descending into insanity, addiction or wanton promiscuity, fathers should be given the right to care for their children without having to go through years of court battles and spend tens of thousands of dollars. This could save the lives and salvage the futures of untold numbers of children, preventing needless tragedies such as the murder of Jude Tzekov, Gigi Jordan’s helpless, innocent little boy.
