Maine's Top Court Lets Father Bar Daughter From Mother's Church
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled on September 2 that Matthew Bradeen has the authority to bar his 11-year-old daughter from attending Calvary Chapel Greater Portland, an evangelical church in Westbrook, over the objection of the girl's mother, Emily Bickford. The lower court had found the child suffered anxiety and panic attacks after the church's teachings on the rapture characterized Bradeen as an "enemy" who would be left behind, and ruled the exposure was "psychologically damaging." The high court affirmed that finding and upheld Bradeen's final decision-making authority over his daughter's religious and medical upbringing when the parents disagree.
Bickford's attorney, Mathew Staver, said she plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court within 90 days, arguing the ruling violates her First Amendment right to share her faith with her own child. The parents must otherwise continue to share parental rights and responsibilities regarding their daughter's exposure to religious organizations generally.
