Congress allows mom who fled U.S. to return with child

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In one of the nation's most bizarre custody battles, Elizabeth Morgan went to jail and left the country rather than let her ex-husband see their daughter.

Now, seven years later, she's won a big victory.

Congress said Morgan can return to the United States from New Zealand with the daughter Ellen, now 14, without fear of arrest. President Clinton is expected to sign the measure.

Morgan said it feels like a miracle.

But her ex-husband Eric Foretich, who has since remarried and begun a new family, doesn't see it that way. He accuses Congress of robbing him of a court order that would let him see his daughter.

"He feels that it's almost hopeless, that he plays by rules, goes from court to court, and when he prevails, friends of his ex-wife step in and reverse the court decision," said Jonathan Turley, Foretich's attorney.

It was the second time Congress has helped Morgan, who claimed Foretich had sexually abused the girl. He strongly denies the allegation.

In 1989, Congress freed Morgan from a Washington, D.C. jail cell where she had spent two years for refusing to obey a court order to let Foretich see their child.

Since Congress has stepped in again, taking control of the case away from the courts, it means Foretich cannot see the girl without her consent, and she has said she does not want to see him.

"I think it's for the welfare of the child, and we so often lose sight of that when you get hard-charging parents in a high-profile case like this," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia.

But another representative said Congress was usurping the power of the courts.

"This is a direct assault on the independence of the judiciary, and is bad public policy," said Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin.

But the battle is far from over. Morgan still needs permission from New Zealand courts to return with Ellen to the U.S., and Foretich said he will fight in courts here to throw out Congress' action on his ex-wife's behalf.

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