An ex-gay mother who failed to give up
custody of her 7-year-old daughter on January 1 to her former lesbian
partner has been given a deadline to appear in court or face possible
arrest, the 'Washington Post' reported.
Judge William Cohen of Vermont Family
Court made the ruling on Friday.
Lisa Miller, 41, fled her 4-year civil
union to Janet Jenkins, 45, and renounced being gay in 2004, moving
herself and the couple's 17-month-old daughter, Isabella, from
Vermont to Virginia.
In dissolving the couple's civil union,
a Vermont judge originally awarded Miller, who is the biological
mother through artificial insemination, custody of the child but
granted liberal visitation rights to Jenkins. The court, however,
reversed the ruling on November 20, awarding custody to Jenkins,
after it found Miller to be in contempt of court for denying Jenkins
visitation rights.
But instead of turning over the child,
Miller disappeared with Isabella, prompting Jenkins on Friday to ask
the court to hold Miller in contempt. Judge Cohen instead gave her
30 days to appear in court with the child or face arrest.
“Every day I wonder where she is, and
if she's OK,” Janet Jenkins said. “Every time the phone rings, I
hope it is someone calling to tell me they have found her.”
Miller's attorney, Rena Lindevaldsen,
told the court that she is unaware of her client's whereabouts.
Upon leaving the relationship, Miller
renounced being gay, calling it a “sin,” and became an
evangelical Christian.
“[Isabella] knows that Ms. Jenkins'
choice to continue to live a homosexual lifestyle is a sin,” Miller
said in court documents.
“Please help me find my child,”
Jenkins said outside the courtroom.