Case in NV asks who is to decide fate of disabled 32-year old's pregnancy
BY ED VOGEL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Posted: Nov. 5, 2012 | 6:21 p.m.
CARSON CITY - District Judge Egan Walker can hold a hearing this morning into the health risks of the pregnancy of 32-year-old Elizabeth "Elisa" Bauer.
The Nevada Supreme Court made no decision Monday on a request to block the Reno judge from holding hearings at which he could order a mentally challenged woman to have an abortion.
He also plans to hold a hearing Thursday on Bauer's mental capacity. Her Catholic parents oppose abortion.
After Bauer's parents requested Friday that the justices prevent any more hearings, the judge filed documents Saturday with the Supreme Court stating that "because of the inexorable pace of biology, inaction was tantamount to action."
Justices rarely intercede in matters still in District Court.
If Walker orders an abortion, Bauer's attorneys will appeal immediately to the Supreme Court, they said Friday.
Bauer's parents, Amy and William Bauer, who adopted her in 1992, were appointed as her legal guardians when she turned 18. She has the mental and social capacity of a 6-year-old and is an epileptic who suffers from seizures and has been living in a group home.
Bauer is in the 12th week of pregnancy. The father is unknown.
Bauer is thought to have wandered away from the group home, prostituted herself at a truck stop and become pregnant during one of those encounters.
The Washoe County Department of Social Services notified Walker about the pregnancy but in an Oct. 4 report stated that officials were not considering abortion as an option.
At a status conference a few days later, medical authorities said there was a health risk to the fetus because of the medications Bauer had been taking. According to the letter, she also has concerns about continuing the pregnancy.
The parents say that under the state guardianship law, only they, not Walker, are permitted to make determinations about Bauer's health. They also have complained that Walker refused to allow them to pull Bauer out of the group home and allow them to care for her in their home.
source
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Posted: Nov. 5, 2012 | 6:21 p.m.
CARSON CITY - District Judge Egan Walker can hold a hearing this morning into the health risks of the pregnancy of 32-year-old Elizabeth "Elisa" Bauer.
The Nevada Supreme Court made no decision Monday on a request to block the Reno judge from holding hearings at which he could order a mentally challenged woman to have an abortion.
He also plans to hold a hearing Thursday on Bauer's mental capacity. Her Catholic parents oppose abortion.
After Bauer's parents requested Friday that the justices prevent any more hearings, the judge filed documents Saturday with the Supreme Court stating that "because of the inexorable pace of biology, inaction was tantamount to action."
Justices rarely intercede in matters still in District Court.
If Walker orders an abortion, Bauer's attorneys will appeal immediately to the Supreme Court, they said Friday.
Bauer's parents, Amy and William Bauer, who adopted her in 1992, were appointed as her legal guardians when she turned 18. She has the mental and social capacity of a 6-year-old and is an epileptic who suffers from seizures and has been living in a group home.
Bauer is in the 12th week of pregnancy. The father is unknown.
Bauer is thought to have wandered away from the group home, prostituted herself at a truck stop and become pregnant during one of those encounters.
The Washoe County Department of Social Services notified Walker about the pregnancy but in an Oct. 4 report stated that officials were not considering abortion as an option.
At a status conference a few days later, medical authorities said there was a health risk to the fetus because of the medications Bauer had been taking. According to the letter, she also has concerns about continuing the pregnancy.
The parents say that under the state guardianship law, only they, not Walker, are permitted to make determinations about Bauer's health. They also have complained that Walker refused to allow them to pull Bauer out of the group home and allow them to care for her in their home.
source