In M. L. B. v. S. L. J. (1996) 519 U.S. 102, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether a state, consistent with due process and equal protection, may condition appeals from trial court decrees terminating parental rights on the affected parent's ability to pay record preparation fees. The Supreme Court held the state court could not deny the parent appellate review because of her poverty. (Ibid.) the Supreme Court distinguished a parental rights termination proceeding from other custody determinations. "The object of the proceeding is 'not simply to infringe upon the parent's interest,' the Court recognized, 'but to end it' ... ." (M. L. B. v. S. L. J., supra, 519 U.S. at p. 118.) "In contrast to loss of custody, which does not sever the parent-child bond, parental status termination is 'irretrievably destructive' of the most fundamental family relationship." (M. L. B. v. S. L.J ., supra, 519 U.S. at p. 121)