Retired US judge defends ruling ordering abortion, sterilization for schizophrenic woman

I hate that the judge went to such an extreme for this schizophrenic woman. HOWEVER, I was married to a woman that exibited limited signs when we were married in the mid-90s and I wasn't educated on the subject enough to understand what her mental disease was. After our child was born I lasted only 2 more years before I asked for a divorce. I walked into the living room and stated, "You're just too mean to want to live with anymore. We need a divorce." I managed to split custody of my child. During the divorce process she met her current husband. They moved to Florida and I got full custody of my girl. After the birth of her 2nd child her current husband started investigating the mental issues that seemed intermittent. About three years ago he had to hospitalize her because she "sanpped". That's when the diagnosis of schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder were confirmed. Try explaining that to a 11yo. Now, my daughter 14yo, has an understanding that this is a genetic disorder and as she grows older this can happen to her. She, already, exibits early signs of what her mother is dealing with. Her mother is not a mom. She wasn't to my daughter or her sister. She now is institutionalized multiple times a year to "re-group" and then shipped back home to spend most of her day sleeping due to the meds.
Point is, if this woman is anything like my ex then maybe the judge is correct. She's simply not fit to be a mom. I don't think my daughter would be able to be a mom in her adulthood. She's a wonderful kid. She's able to understand her mother's disorder and the fact that it is possible that her life will follow a similar path. I am hoping that this understanding helps her come to the conclusion that she wouldn't put a kid through the same mental anguish that she went through and is going through with her own mother.

Mom was labeled schizophrenic when I was four years old. I admire her more than any other person I know. She said she could not stop thinking abnormal thoughts even with medication but she did recognize that her thoughts were considered abnormal so she purposely did not share these thought with her children. She was and still is loving and decent. Some have more to overcome then others to be a good parent. She was and is a good parent and I love her dearly.

That's like standing up in court and saying, "Your Honor, that woman WOULD have wanted to have sex with me if she hadn't have been doing all that yelling and screaming and that running around."

I seem to recall reading in an article about this case some time ago that said that the schizophrenic woman's parents were already raising their grandchild from a previous pregnancy. If you're seriously mentally ill, and you're not capable of raising the child you've already borne, do you really have the right to keep bearing children and expecting your poor old parents to take care of all of them? Why shouldn't the parents have any say in this? Clearly, they are loving and responsible parents who have done their best with a mentally ill daughter, and her offspring; how much more are they going to have to endure?

Women have to realize that currently if they are deemed wards of the state they do not have the right to bear children.

just a tough choice, just met a woman obviously mentally limited she told me she ten kids that is right ten kids and all taken by the government. Such a burden on us and it continues becasue her children arementally limited too. Jesus promised to solve these problems because none of us can for sure.

I'm sure the people disagreeing with the judge think it's perfectly alright for drug addicted, HIV infected, mentally ill prostitutes to bare children they can neither afford nor adopt into a caring family since those people would rather spend their money and take their chances on a foreign born child who was brought to term by a healthy mother.

I knew a woman diagnosed with bi-polar and in the course of her productive years she had 5 children and left them all for someone else to raise because she couldn't handle them now she is out there probably still producing somewhere. She was a looker and takers weren't hard for her to find. If she had been a dog or cat she could have spayed and everyone would applauded.

This title is purposefully misleading. The judge didn't order an abortion. The judge turned over the decision making to the parents because she was incapable of making her own decisions.

Nazi Americka is Here! How sad that now everyone else's opinions take precedent over your own about your own body and pregnancies...OH! Wait!!!....

I'm sure these people who disagree would be more than happy to foot the bill for this woman's child if it has the same mental illnesses as the mother. The costs do not stop when the child is 18. We have people in this country who've cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars throughout their lifetime and have never contributed nor will they ever contribute a dime to society as a whole. Entire families who breed like there's no tomorrow costing states hundreds of millions in medical, food, monetary, special ed etc etc. The country is bleeding to death financially you idiots. We cannot afford your feel good programs anymore. Pay out of your own pockets and you'll change your tune real quick.

This article does not provide any information about the woman's pregnancy and living conditions. Was she a victim of rape? Was she aware enough to know who fathered the child and under what circumstances? Was she aware that she was pregnant? Was she under supervisory care of some agency or person? How advanced was her pregancy? Would medications designed to help her with her illness be damaging to her pregnancy? Who requested the abortion and sterilization order? What was the age of the woman and what was the likihood that she could control her illness and support future pregancies?

You know, once you say it's OK for the state to forcibly sterilize someone, after that you're haggling over WHO they're allowed to sterilize. Don't be so sure it could never be misused, even against people like yourself.

BU sucks.

Yikes!

It must be great to be a mind-reader.

Hmm, we require day care givers to be licensed, teachers to be certified, even school bus drivers have to submit to background checks, but even suggest that someone be subject to some qualifications to become a parent, and everyone goes nuts and calls you Hitler. People, get real: HUMAN REPRODUCTION IS AN INNATELY AGGRESSIVE ACT. A rational state must put the brakes on it when necessary.

why would anyone think its ok for any reason for the government to decide if we can have children or not, this opens up a crazy pandorah's box. Anyone can label anyone as crazy if they have the motivation. So you smart off to a judge during a traffic ticket hearing, he then decides you can not have kids.... sounds fair to me... ugh this nation is getting so out of control.

Good choice BU

Schizophrenics do not make good moms. I've seen it.