Debate Over Grandparents' Rights

July 11 -- Do grandparents have the right to visit their grandchildren against the wishes of the children’s parents?

It’s a debate that has gripped America’s families and courtrooms. Last month, the Supreme Court struck down a Washington state law which granted anyone, including grandparents, the chance to petition for visitation rights when it “may serve the best interest of the child.”

But the ruling did not silence the debate. Every state has a similar statute on the books, and the court’s decision left open the chance that some could stand. Read what two voices in the debate have to say, and weigh in with your thoughts on our message board. The essays are the opinions of the writers alone and not of ABCNEWS.

Good for Grandparents and Children As every state legislature has recognized and the Supreme Court recently acknowledged, the changing nature of the American family makes the grandparent-grandchild relationship more important to a child’s well-being than ever before.

Grandparents often provide a stable, secure relationship that fills a child’s need to be connected to family, which can be especially important when the primary family is not intact.

A 1999 survey by the American Association of Retired Persons found that the state of American grandparenting is strong. Most grandparents interact regularly with their grandchildren: more than eight in 10 have talked on the phone or seen a grandchild in person within the past month; seven in 10 have purchased a gift for a grandchild in the past month, and a similar number have had a grandchild to their home to eat a meal.

AARP believes that in the case of divorce, separation of the death of a parent, grandparents should be allowed to petition the court for visitation with grandchildren, where the court deems it to be in the best interest of the child. While there is a presumption that custodial parents act in the best interests of their children, there should be an opportunity in instances of broken families for the court to protect the child’s interest in an ongoing relationship with grandparents.