Judge orders N.Y. couple not to conceive

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Judge orders N.Y. couple not to conceive
30
Sat, 05-08-2004 - 12:24pm

I'm actually kind of divided on this one.  While I agree that it infringes on their rights, I have to say that I agree with the judge as well.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Conception%20Banned


Friday, May 7, 2004 · Last updated 9:14 p.m. PT


Judge orders N.Y. couple not to conceive


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A couple has been ordered not to conceive any more children until the ones they already have are no longer in foster care.


A civil liberties advocate said the court ruling unsealed Friday was "blatantly unconstitutional."


Monroe County Family Court Judge Marilyn O'Connor ruled March 31 that both parents "should not have yet another child which must be cared for at public expense."


"The facts of this case and the reality of parenthood cry out for family planning education," she ruled. "This court believes the constitutional right to have children is overcome when society must bear the financial and everyday burden of care."


The judge is not forcing contraception on the couple nor is she requiring the mother to get an abortion should she become pregnant. The couple may choose to be sterilized at no cost to them, O'Connor ruled.


If the couple violates O'Connor's ruling, they could be jailed for contempt of court.


"I don't know of any precedent that would permit a judge to do this," Anna Schissel, staff attorney for the Reproductive Rights Project of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester. "And even if there were a precedent, it would be blatantly unconstitutional because it violates the United States Constitution and the New York Constitution."


Neither parent attended the proceeding or secured legal representation. The mother waived her right to a lawyer, and the father never showed up in court.


The mother was found to have neglected her four children, ages 1, 2, 4 and 5. All three children who were tested for cocaine tested positive, according to court papers. Both parents had a history of drug abuse. It was not immediately clear if the father had other children.


A case worker testified that the parents ignored an order to get mental health treatment and attend parenting classes after the 1-year-old was born.


The mother was still in the hospital after giving birth to her fourth child in March 2003 when authorities took the infant, according to court papers. Investigators said the mother was unprepared to care for the infant.


Attempts to reach the youngest child's guardian were unsuccessful. Information on the other children's guardians was not immediately available.


Attorney Chris Affronti, who chairs the family law section of the Monroe County Bar Association, said he's not sure how the ruling could be enforced.


"I think what the judge is trying to do is kind of have a wake-up call for society," he said.

cl-nwtreehugger


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 11:12am

When I had my son, I roomed at the hospital with a woman who had just delivered her 5th child.

________________________________________________

"If you don't stand up for something, you'll lie down for anything." -- B

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 11:22am

<<<I agree with you in theory, ofcourse. In practicality I think something needs to be done, BC implant. Do you think this woman enjoys being pregnant, giving birth & never seeing her children? What about the birth defects, or learning disabilities,

________________________________________________

"If you don't stand up for something, you'll lie down for anything." -- B

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 11:31am

<<>>


Sorry, gandalf, but NYS DOES have Child Endangerment laws.

________________________________________________

"If you don't stand up for something, you'll lie down for anything." -- B

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-22-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 11:54am
I think he has multiplied enough. Sterilize the "jerk". He just wants to have sex--the nonsense about "go forth and multiply" is just that--nonsense. With multiplicity comes responsibility. This man doesn't know the concept. He just wants to have sex.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-05-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 12:19pm

Here's a revision of NY's Child Endangerment laws., if'n you're interested.


I should have been clear, I meant like the ones we had discussed previously on this board that lead to a woman who decided not to have a cicerian put in jail for endangering her unborn child.


I know that we have general Child Endangerment laws, but not like that one.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 2:40pm

I think this to be the more effective way of dealing with it.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 3:04pm

What

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 3:18pm

I don't think it helps to go after two people.

________________________________________________

"If you don't stand up for something, you'll lie down for anything." -- B

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-05-2003
Tue, 05-18-2004 - 3:41pm

I don't think it helps to go after two people.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 1:44pm
I think that the judge had every right to tell her she can't have any more kids till the 4 that she does have is being taken care of and not by the government. We have enought kids in foster homes now as it is and not enough foster homes to put them in so then they go to these houses. 90% of them grow up with no love and the people they live with half the time doesn't care what they do or even care about them. I think people that have that many kids and neglects them should either be put on birth control or have thier tubes tied and burnt. I am praying and keeping positive thoughts about the kids in my mind everyday.

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