Local mom hopes to get daughter home after partner flees country

A Colorado woman spoke out today fighting for her parental rights after her former partner fled the country with their youngest daughter a year and a half ago.

Speaking to a crowd of about 45 people on the west steps of the Capitol, Wendy Alfredsen said she wants her daughter back home, with her, in Colorado and wants to see state, federal and international laws changed so no one has to endure the same heartache she’s experienced.

“No family should be separated by a simple piece of paper,” she said. Because Alfredsen’s name is not on the child’s birth certificate, she is not deemed a legal parent, thereby thickening the case.

In 2004, Alfredsen and her former partner adopted two biological sisters. Because Colorado did not yet allow second parent adoptions, each of the women were left to legally adopt one of the sisters, with the intent that the other would serve as a guardian of the other child.

Alfredsen and her former partner’s relationship ended in the fall of 2009.

On December 9, 2009, Alfredsen went to pick up her daughter from school and was informed that she was removed from school to attend her great-grandmother’s funeral in Norway. Her great-grandmother is still alive to this day.

It was at this point Alfredsen panicked. Her former partner had fled the country, taking her youngest daughter with her.

Had these events happened only eight months later, the former partner’s actions would have been in violation of a newly passed law that prohibits parents from leaving the state until the permanent orders were set, said Alfredsen’s lawyer Ann Gushurst.

Today’s press conference did not proceed without tears, shed by both Alfredsen and rallying supporters. The goal of the press conference, was to raise awareness about the inequality in same-sex adoption rights and to give a voice to the many gays and lesbians left without parental rights of their adopted children. Though there is hope, staunch laws, unmoved judges and court systems have yet to catch up to extend rights to the LGBT community.

Alfredsen spoke about the moments she shared with her daughter. “I watched her take her first steps, crack her first smile … we laughed, we danced, just like any other parent does with their child,” she said.

Hoping for the best outcome, yet expecting the worse, Alfredsen realizes it may take time for the system to change.

“This isn’t just about my case,” she said. “It’s about protecting families for generations to come.”

Alfredsen has not seen her youngest daughter since April. She has been granted one week per month visitation rights, yet cannot afford to make the frequent trips to Norway.

Friends, family, community members and the press gathered as Alfredsen made her emotional appeal to the Colorado public. To learn more about this woman’s struggle to bring her daughter home and learn about ways to help, visit www.facebook.com/berlynsjourneyforjustice.