Disabled women forced to have abortions now suing....

Disabled women suing D.C. over forced abortions 

Jane Doe 1 was forced to have an #abortion. She didn't want one, but as a developmentally disabled woman she didn't have the final say. In 1984, the Washington, D.C. government overrode Jane Doe 1's will and performed the abortion.

Incredibly, these many years later, a federal court is still confronting the legal questions that arise from the forced medical procedure. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. gave attorneys for Jane Doe 1 permission to pursue an amended complaint, revising a lawsuit first filed in 2001. Jane Doe 1 is one of three disabled women on whose behalf the original lawsuit was brought. The other two women have since passed away. The case has gone up and down the appellate ladder over the years. Now, Jane Doe 1's attorneys want to amend their complaint, in part, to allege the surgeries amounted to batteries and that they violated the Mentally Retarded Citizens Constitutional Rights and Dignity Act of 1978. Judge Kennedy decided that, yes, the new arguments can be fleshed out in an amended complaint.

I recall several years ago hearing the pro life testimony from then TN state rep. Donna Rowland now retired who told a women's day on the hill event that she was born to developmentally delayed parents. Yet, she prospered and went on to reach many significant  events in her life. It was an amazing story. I looked online for it but could not find specifics of the story although I remember the outline quite well. So the take away is that we are not the ones to judge who is fit to bear children. 

Now, Jane Doe 1's attorneys want to amend their complaint, in part, to allege the surgeries amounted to batteries and that they violated the Mentally Retarded Citizens Constitutional Rights and Dignity Act of 1978.