Posted on 01/16/2004 8:21:42 AM PST by Born Conservative
Mom rejects C-sections; gives birth on own terms By DAVID WEISS dweiss@leader.net
WILKES-BARRE - A judge late Wednesday afternoon gave a local hospital permission to force a woman to deliver a baby via Caesarean section against her will. Doctors warned the expectant mother that not having a C-section could kill her and/or her child. But against doctor's orders, Amber Marlowe left the hospital.
Hours later, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital received legal permission to become guardian of the fetus and perform the C-section if Marlowe returned to the hospital.
Marlowe never returned. She gave birth vaginally Thursday morning at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton to a baby girl, her and her husband's seventh child. Court papers said it was her seventh pregnancy in seven or eight years. The Marlowes said the mother and infant are healthy.
Attorneys for General Hospital sought the highly unusual action through a lawsuit because its doctors said Marlowe, who went to the hospital Tuesday night, adamantly refused to deliver the fetus by C-section because of "religious" beliefs.
Her refusal came after warnings by doctors that a vaginal delivery could result in death for the fetus because it was expected to weigh 13 pounds. They also were concerned with complications Marlowe had in other pregnancies.
The hospital was acting to "preserve and protect the rights of (the fetus) regarding its health and survival," the hospital's attorney, Mary G. Cummings, wrote in court papers.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Conahan late Wednesday afternoon approved the request.
Marlowe's husband, John, said the hospital made up the story, including the part about the religious beliefs and the fetus' size, after its staff was "arrogant" in trying to force Marlowe to have a C-section.
His wife was initially cleared to give a vaginal birth at General, but doctors held her at the hospital for 13 hours, telling her "horror stories" in trying to change her mind, he said.
"They just kept telling me to do a Caesarean section," Amber Marlowe said. "They were forcing me in to it."
The events began to unfold Tuesday when the Marlowes, of Academy Street in Plymouth, first went to Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre to give birth.
According to Cummings' court papers, which identify the Marlowes as Jane and John Doe for confidentiality reasons:
The couple went to Mercy Hospital where the staff advised them a C-section should be performed for the protection of the mother and fetus.
The couple refused, insisting the fetus be delivered vaginally, and left the hospital.
Later, the couple went to the emergency room at General Hospital, which is part of Wyoming Valley Health Care System.
Drs. Lynne Coslett and Stephen Zeger on Tuesday and Wednesday repeatedly told the Marlowes a C-section was necessary.
But the Marlowes again refused.
"Jane Doe and John Doe have made it clear that they are adamant that they will not consent to a C-section, regardless of the danger that a vaginal delivery presents to Baby Doe," Cummings wrote. "There exists the imminent threat of irreparable harm to Baby Doe in the absence of an immediate order."
John Marlowe said the hospital's request is full of "lies," and is considering taking legal action against General Hospital.
He said his wife wanted a vaginal delivery because all of her prior six births were done that way, including births of children larger than her newborn. A friend of Amber Marlowe also died from a C-section, making her wary of the procedure, the couple said.
"It's up to the mother," said John Marlowe, who has lived in the area for just more than one year. "They insisted she have a C-section."
Amber Marlowe said she had no religious concerns about the procedure. John Marlowe said his family practices typical Christianity, and he does not belong to any radical sect.
The hospital court papers also say during a prior Marlowe birth, a fetus suffered a "shoulder dystocia." That's an obstetric emergency that can severely injure the mother and fetus.
That, John Marlowe said, is also untrue. So is the allegation that the ultrasound showed the fetus at 13 pounds, he said, adding the test showed the infant was just more than 11 pounds. The infant weighed less than 13 pounds at birth, Amber Marlowe said.
John Marlowe did not want the precise weight revealed, and he refused to reveal his or his wife's age. The couple has been married for more than nine years, John Marlowe said.
Conahan's court order gave the hospital permission to notify the Marlowes of the court order if they had returned to General Hospital. Cummings said the ruling was the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.
I think it's called "Having your cake and eating it"
Remember that the court order only applied if the woman returned to the hospital. Most likely, the doctors were simply trying to protect themselves from potential litigation.
And for the majority of time on this planet, childbirth was one of the leading causes of death for women. C-sections have saved many women's and babies' lives. I don't agree with the hospital attempting to force a C-section, but given the climate that OB/GYNs work in, in which every bad outcome leads to a lawsuit, I can't blame them for wanting to protect themselves.
Women having been giving birth since man hit this planet and it's only recently since malpractice lawyers have been suing doctors and hospitals that C-sections have begun to be pushed on them.
Your right, that was probably in the legalease of the Judge because they don't recognize "baby" anymore until it clears the birth canal.
But the real question is why the Judge would want to become guardian of a Tissue Blob (definition of a fetus)?
But in thinking about it, with the lawsuit epidemic, they were probably trying to cover themselves tripply for wrongfull death lawsuit. Once for the genocologist, once for the Doctor and once for the hospital.
But you see, now that we don't go by the constitution any more. The lawsuit epidemic means that the doctors can still be sued if the Judge feels like it.
Goodbye Genecologists, Doctors, Hospitals. Thanks Liberals.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.