Power

Mentally Ill Woman Nearly Undergoes Unwanted Abortion, Sterilization At Judge’s Request

A judge in Massachusetts was reprimanded for going too far in his decisions regarding a pregnant woman suffering from schizophrenia.

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Just as we will condemn those who force women to continue pregnancies against their will, we condemn those who would take away any woman’s right to continue a pregnacny.  Even a judge.

According to ABC News, a Massachusetts judge ordered a mentally ill woman who discovered she was pregnant to have an unwanted abortion, and to be sterilized against her will, as well.

[Family and Probate Court Judge Christina] Harms found the woman would choose to end her pregnancy if she were competent and agreed to appoint her parents as guardians “for the purpose of consenting to the extraordinary procedures of abortion and sterilization,” the Appeals Court said.

The Appeals Court ruling does not identify the woman, who is believed to be about five months pregnant.

The judge reasoned that if Moe were competent, she would opt for an abortion to benefit from medication that otherwise could not be given to her because of its effects on the fetus.

The Appeals Court said the judge also directed the clinic to sterilize the woman at the same time “to avoid this painful situation from recurring in the future.”

The Appeals court said that the woman, who considers herself Catholic, refused requests to have an abortion, and that no one besides Harms had even brought up the idea of sterilization.