Outrageous
Jesse Cornett
There has been a story floating around for weeks about a court case over in Spokane, Washington. Even though it has potential major implications for battered women over in Vancouver, the Oregonian just saw fit to print a story today (and felt it important enough to print on the front page). As the story goes, a battered woman seeks a divorce, the judge refused to grant a divorce because she was pregnant (by a man other than her husband, who was in jail by then), citing case law saying the child had a right to not be born “out of wedlock.” The case is now on appeal.
I think the judge made an amazingly poor decision, and think the Oregonian should have picked up on this weeks ago.
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Jan 20, '05
Actually the O had an article about the case a couple of weeks ago.
Jan 20, '05
The Oregonian ran this story on January 5th, (thanks Google News) Woman denied divorce because she is pregnant OregonLive.com, OR - Jan 5, 2005 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — In a case that pits a woman's bid to ... the rights of children and the state, a judge has revoked a pregnant woman's divorce until after ...
Jan 20, '05
Jesse, I sent the story to Trish Wilson, who runs a blog largely devoted to domestic relations/men's movement issues, last week. So, it is getting some coverage in the blogosphore.
About the best that can be said is thank God/Gaia/Whatever the judge in the case is retiring. The department of social services also deserves to be condemned. The paternity of the child is not such a pressing issue that they need to meddle in the divorce proceedings. (And, it is rather obvious. Neither the husband nor the boyfriend, both in and out of the prison system, will be able to support the child.)
Jan 20, '05
2 comments.
I've had a very recent experience with DSHS or whatever Washington calls child's protective services. It is an incredibly inept bureaucracy. If representative of WA social service agencies, it is no surprise to me.
A retiring judge? A new federal administration aiming straight at fetal rights over women's rights? This will probably not be the first story we hear of "emboldened" judges at the state level.
Horrifying.
4:58 p.m.
Jan 20, '05
There are many reasons Spokane is 1 mile away (both geographically, and ideologically) from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.
8:40 p.m.
Jan 20, '05
Hey folks, three postings prior to 6 am led to two sloppy mistakes. I should have checked on something in the Oregonian's earlier article but didn't. On further checking, the eariest article anywhere on the subject I can find is January 1 (though I remember hearing about it before that). Shaming the ridiculous decision was my main point and hope that wasn't lost. Fact is, though, this case was ruled on in November, and it took all media a long time to get the story out and I think it's more important a story than one deserved to be sat on for a month.
Jan 20, '05
Jesse, in the first story I read about this case, there was less information. Apparently, the O reporter obtained a copy of the transcript from the court, which can take time and money. The reporter should be commended for going the extra mile. I don't believe the story was suppressed. If I remember correctly, it was front page Netscape News, which means it would have been on the front page at AOL, too.
The judge is really wrong on the legal issues. (Which is why he cited no authority.) But, it is the meddlesome prosecutor who gets my goat.
Jan 21, '05
The Oregonian did have something on this story Christmas week. I read it when I was home on vacation that week. It blew me away. It wasn't on the front page, but this was definitely not the first time the Oregonian has devoted space to this story.