I agree wholeheartedly that everyone has the right to know WHO their parents are, but why are children forced to spend time with parents they would be better off without? I read stories how children are taken from homes because they are abused and neglected and then placed right back in that same home and further abused, mutilated, and even killed.

Does a child have a right NOT to be forced to visit a parent who is a bad person? Why would we intentionally expose a child to a person who was abusive to the other parent simply because that person had "rights"? Where are the child's rights?

Just because someone contributes sperm does not make them a good parent or a good influence on a child. We don't let our kids eat poison, we vaccinate them and put them in car seats to keep them safe from harm, we educate them and then we often undo all that good, turning our backs on potential danger to the kids because some person has "parental rights". Is there something wrong with this picture?

I'm not picking on anyone, but I was reading several of the threads and it seems that children are used as weapons and their best interests often take a back seat to parent "rights". And I think that is wrong.