Baby Doe Will be Born - Not Aborted!!

May 28, 2003

Mathew D. Staver

What a day this has been. After filing our appeal to the Florida Supreme Court last night at 8 pm, we continued to vigorously work on this case this morning. Mid-morning we received a call from the clerk at the Florida Supreme Court stating the court declined to take the case because it lacked jurisdiction. This is because the state appeals court issued an order yesterday at 5 pm that merely denied the emergency appeal without stating its reasons for doing so. Without stated reasons, the Flordia Supreme Court stated it had no jurisdication to take the case. Of course, due to the speed of this case, the appeals court had little time to issue a reasoned opinion.

Set back but not defeated, our team continued to explore other avenues. Since the court's order directed the hospital to terminate the pregnancy, we contended that the pregnancy could be terminated either by live birth or removal of a dead baby. Either way, the mother would must undergo anesthesia for the tubal ligation and either have the baby (1) removed through C-section, or (2) through dilating the cervix and removing the baby limb by limb via a D & X abortion, or (3)partially birthing the baby except for the head via a partial birth abortion. Whichever of the three procedures were followed, the risks to the mother were the same. Since we have a number of people asking to adopt Baby Doe, why not allow Baby Doe a chance at life?

We approached the attorney for the guardian along with an expert OB/GYN in Miami willing to oversee the procedure. At 5 pm tonight, the trial judge agreed to listen to this proposal. Around 9 pm tonight, we received word that the judge reversed his prior decision and issued a new order directing that the child be born alive!

By the way, the abortion was delayed due to our ongoing court proceedings. After the Florida Supreme Court ruling this morning, the abortion was then scheduled for 7:30 am Thursday, May 29. Now the abortion will not take place. This case was like representing someone sentenced to death and obtaining a reprieve at the eleventh hour.

We are so pleased that Baby Doe will have a chance at life. Please continue to pray for Baby Doe and her mother ZM.

P.S. This case underscores the reason why, at a minimum, viable babies need a voice to represent their interests. These babies want a chance at life just as much as you and I.

P.P.S. After the Florida Supreme Court declined to get involved this morning, I informed the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. The story for Thursday's paper was written essentially stating we had come to the end of the line. By the time readers would have read the story tomorrow, Baby Doe would be dead. Tonight after the turn of events, I again spoke to the Sentinel. The journalist stated that every time he spoke with me so many new events had happened in between. When I informed him of the reversal, he said "Wow!" He said that several times. He then stated he would work on re-writing the story because it will now be much different than the one drafted earlier. Praise God!


Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
http://www.lc.org.

An Ally of the Alliance Defense Fund