LilMtnCbn
05-17-2004, 06:23 AM
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040514/APN/405140537
Woman pregnant after judge ordered her not to have more children
The Associated Press
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A Rochester woman who has been ordered not to have more
children is pregnant again, family members said.
The woman, who is 35, apparently became pregnant in mid-March before Monroe
County Family Court Judge Marilyn L. O'Connor ordered her and her boyfriend not
to have any more children until they prove they can care for their children who
are in foster care.
The ruling, disclosed last week, is thought to be the first of its kind in the
nation.
The woman didn't show up Thursday for a court proceeding that would have been
the first step toward determining whether the foster parents of one of her
children can adopt him. Family members who attended on the woman's behalf said
afterward that she's pregnant, according to Barbara DeLeeuw, executive director
of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rochester.
If O'Connor finds that the woman violated the order, the judge could find her
in contempt of court and jail her. The ACLU is trying to find the woman to see
if she would consent to an appeal of O'Connor's decision.
A city judge is also looking for the woman. He issued a bench warrant for her
arrest May 6 after she failed to appear in Drug Treatment Court. The woman was
charged with prostitution in April and referred to Drug Treatment Court because
of past her history of cocaine addiction, according to court documents. The
house she identified as her home during the arrest is now vacant.
The woman has four children. Three of them tested positive for cocaine at birth
and were placed in foster care immediately. The fourth wasn't tested but was
placed in foster care after the county alleged neglect. The woman's boyfriend
fathered the two youngest children, according to court records.
O'Connor said children deserve more than drug-addicted parents who are often
homeless and don't have parenting skills. She ordered the county to provide
free family planning services to the couple but didn't say the woman should
abort if she becomes pregnant again.
O'Connor scheduled a default hearing May 25 to determine if the woman's
parental rights should be terminated and the adoption approved.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Woman pregnant after judge ordered her not to have more children
The Associated Press
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A Rochester woman who has been ordered not to have more
children is pregnant again, family members said.
The woman, who is 35, apparently became pregnant in mid-March before Monroe
County Family Court Judge Marilyn L. O'Connor ordered her and her boyfriend not
to have any more children until they prove they can care for their children who
are in foster care.
The ruling, disclosed last week, is thought to be the first of its kind in the
nation.
The woman didn't show up Thursday for a court proceeding that would have been
the first step toward determining whether the foster parents of one of her
children can adopt him. Family members who attended on the woman's behalf said
afterward that she's pregnant, according to Barbara DeLeeuw, executive director
of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rochester.
If O'Connor finds that the woman violated the order, the judge could find her
in contempt of court and jail her. The ACLU is trying to find the woman to see
if she would consent to an appeal of O'Connor's decision.
A city judge is also looking for the woman. He issued a bench warrant for her
arrest May 6 after she failed to appear in Drug Treatment Court. The woman was
charged with prostitution in April and referred to Drug Treatment Court because
of past her history of cocaine addiction, according to court documents. The
house she identified as her home during the arrest is now vacant.
The woman has four children. Three of them tested positive for cocaine at birth
and were placed in foster care immediately. The fourth wasn't tested but was
placed in foster care after the county alleged neglect. The woman's boyfriend
fathered the two youngest children, according to court records.
O'Connor said children deserve more than drug-addicted parents who are often
homeless and don't have parenting skills. She ordered the county to provide
free family planning services to the couple but didn't say the woman should
abort if she becomes pregnant again.
O'Connor scheduled a default hearing May 25 to determine if the woman's
parental rights should be terminated and the adoption approved.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
