# In Re William L.

> Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · January 31, 1978 · 477 Pa. 322

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9764285

## Case

- **Full name:** In Re WILLIAM L., Frank L., and Mark L., Minor Children. Appeal of MARJORIE L. in Re JUDITH DENISE B., a Minor. Appeal of GLADYS B.
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** January 31, 1978
- **Citations:** 477 Pa. 322; 383 A.2d 1228; 1978 Pa. LEXIS 900
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Manderino
- **Judges:** Eagen, O'Brien, Roberts, Pomeroy, Nix, Manderino
- **Cited by:** 271 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9764285

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- recognizing the injustice in consigning a child indefinitely to the “limbo” of foster care

## Opinion text

MANDERINO, Justice,
dissenting.
I must dissent. The majority holds that the state may constitutionally terminate the parental rights of a parent if that parent, without fault, is incapacitated, and the incapacity prevents the parent from taking care of that parent’s children. The state does not have such a dangerous and far-reaching right over its citizens. Suppose a parent is incapacitated, without fault, as the result of an automobile accident, or a heart attack, or an injury received during a war? Under the majority’s holding, if such a parent cannot take care of his or her children, the state may terminate parental rights. To state the issue is to answer it. The state can constitutionally have no such right.
We are not in this case concerned with custody. Of course, if a parent is incapacitated, a benevolent and protec *370 tive state may help that parent by providing care for the children outside of the parent’s custody. The termination of parental rights, however, means that the child is dead so far as that parent is concerned. I cannot, as does the majority, make a valued judgment that a child will grow up to be a better adult if that child is cut off from its natural parents who áre not able, without fault, to care for the child.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9764285. Public record. Not legal advice.