Last Thursday, an interesting case was placed before a Los Angeles court, which began a hearing on the issue of whether a paraplegic woman, whose primary mode of communication is blinking her eyes, should have the right to have visitation with her triplets.

The woman's ex-husband, who has had custody of the triplets since their birth in June of 2006, is fighting to keep his children away from their mother and their maternal grandparents, if not to limit how much they see them.

His ex-wife, who was healthy up until the triplets were born, was the victim of several medical errors during their birth. As a result of oxygen starvation, she is now in a minimally conscious state, according to a court-appointed neurologist.

The case, which is a sad one, involves a bitter battle between the disabled woman's parents and her ex-husband, who feels that regular visitation could be harmful for the children if it doesn't happen on his terms.

The woman now lives in South Carolina with her parents, who act as her conservators. In that role, they asked to court to order her ex-husband to bring the children from Los Angeles to Myrtle Beach for regular visits with the children. According to the woman's parents, she desperately wishes to see her children.

According to sources, the woman's ex-husband wants visitation to be on his own terms, and doesn't want to share the responsibilities of raising the triplets with his ex-mother-in-law. He testified in court last week that he wants to control the information the children receive about their mother, and he fears that close contact with their mother might emotionally damage them.

The case undoubtedly involves a number of considerations concerning parental fitness and what is ultimately in the best interests of the children.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "Visitation hearing for severely disabled woman examines the basic of parenthood," Maria L. La Ganga, 22 Mar 2011.