Decision in O.C. Parental-Rights Case a Landmark

In a precedent-setting decision, an appeals court on Thursday ruled that state authorities can terminate the parental rights of a gravely disabled person.

The opinion by the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana clears the way for a Fountain Valley woman to proceed with the adoption of a boy whose mother is a patient at a Norwalk mental health facility.

The mother has fought the adoption, saying it would violate her rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act. But the court ruled that the act does not guarantee a disabled person custody if a child will not be cared for properly.

The mother “suffers a mental incapacity or disorder that renders herself unable to care for and control the child adequately, and she’s a person with such a condition who is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future,” the justices wrote, citing language from the lower court ruling.

Though other courts have ruled similarly across the nation, Thursday’s ruling is the first published opinion of its kind in California, according to the decision.

The Fountain Valley woman’s attorney, Nhuan Hong Nguyen, said the ruling is important because it recognizes the interests of the 9-year-old boy, who he said is extraordinarily close to his future adoptive mother, an aunt identified as Catherine P.

“She loves the boy, and she wants the boy to have a brighter future,” Nguyen said.

Catherine P. is the sister of the boy’s mother and has cared for the child for most of his life.

The mother’s attorney, Richard Gilbert, said the decision threatens to deny parental rights permanently to people who may one day recover from their disabilities. He said he plans to appeal the decision as high as the U.S. Supreme Court.

“She could be cured, . . . maybe in a matter of a few years, and yet this decision won’t permit any hope that she could ever have her child again,” he said. The mother suffers from a mental disorder and cannot provide for her own needs, including food, clothing and shelter, according to her doctors. She also engages in self-abusive behavior. The identity of the child’s father is unknown.

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Times staff writer Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.