"Baby Girl S" Born in Florida

By Dave Andrusko

When "Baby Girl S" was delivered August 30, the birth of the six-pound, seven-ounce child represented a happy ending to a story that began in sheer ugliness. The baby's severely mentally disabled mother, referred to in documents as "J.D.S.," tragically had been raped in an Orlando, Florida, group home where she lived.

Mother and child were at the center of a fierce controversy that extended for months over such issues as who would be appointed the mother's legal guardian, what would happen to the unborn child, and whether a separate guardian should have been appointed for the baby, as requested by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Evidently, no one explicitly counseled aborting the baby, although there were some ominous rumbles. For example, back in May, Howard Simon, the ACLU's Florida executive director, lobbed verbal jabs at Gov. Bush, charging that the governor's request for a separate guardian for the baby was a "stalling tactic" to prevent any possibility of an abortion, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

At the time, Simon told the Associated Press (AP) he was not aware of anyone as yet suggesting that an abortion should occur in this case. The AP paraphrased Simon as saying, "What should happen is that a guardian appointed for the expectant mother should quickly evaluate what's best for her. He doesn't assume that would mean an abortion, but said abortion should be among the possibilities."

For his part, Gov. Bush insisted his act was not a political statement but a "moral decision" on behalf of a mother unable to make a decision for herself and her unborn child. "This is simply an _expression of compassion for a tragic case where a woman was raped and cannot provide support or any decision for this child," Bush said, according to the Times.

The baby was born uneventfully at 10 a.m. August 30 during a scheduled Caesarean section at an unnamed Orlando-area hospital. "She's pretty. She's got lots of hair. It's curly," Patti Jarrell (the mother's court-appointed legal guardian) told the Orlando Sentinel. Jarrell had waited several hours on the day of the baby's birth, but only saw a photo of the new baby. She said, "I'm still a little upset I didn't get to see the baby."

J.D.S.'s pregnancy was discovered in April. The real controversy began when police wanted to use amniocentesis to obtain a DNA sample from the baby before her birth.

However, authorities discovered that the young woman did not have a legal guardian to make such decisions for her. Florida Circuit Judge Lawrence R. Kirkwood then appointed Jarrell as J.D.S.'s guardian, but firmly rejected the state's request for a separate guardian for the child. (The state appealed to the 5th District Court of Appeals.)

When Jarrell recommended to the judge in June that the baby be carried to term, Kirkwood agreed. Jarrell had told the court that J.D.S. had been examined by doctors on June 5 and June 12 and both declared that "there was no medical reason to terminate the pregnancy," the Miami Herald reported. Jarrell told the judge at the time that the young woman was in good health and that her pregnancy (best guesses were that she was in her seventh month) was "quite unremarkable."

Jarrell concluded, "It is the guardian's belief that completing the pregnancy/delivering the child is in J.D.S.' best interest, and that therefore, unless otherwise directed by the court, the guardian intends to perform her duties under the assumption that J.D.S. will complete her pregnancy.''

According to the Orlando Sentinel, "Jarrell could have elected to request an abortion if she thought J.D.S.' health or life was at risk." Jarrell also said, "two sonograms indicate no obvious abnormalities with the fetus."

After the baby's birth, Florida's Department of Children & Families was immediately granted emergency temporary custody, and Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez appointed attorney Lisa J. Augspurger to serve as the newborn's guardian ad litem. In addition, a DNA sample was taken from the child, which may lead to the discovery of who had raped the 23-year-old woman.

Although there is no reason to believe the child might be developmentally disabled, Jarrell told the Sentinel, "Baby Girl S looks normal and healthy, but it may take months before it is known whether the child shares her mother's serious developmental disabilities."

According to the AP, Jeb Bush's administration will continue the appeal process in order to protect the interests of unborn children in "extremely rare cases like that of the severely disabled woman, known only as 'J.D.S.,' whose rape started the case."

Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj told the AP, "The J.D.S. case was very unique, involving a severely incapacitated woman who couldn't care for herself or her unborn child." She added, "And we hope it would never be repeated. But if it tragically does, we would want both the mother and unborn child to each have a guardian to represent their best interests and ensure their well-being.''

Jarrell told the Sentinel that she particularly wanted a picture of the mother and baby together, explaining, "I want it for her [J.D.S.].... I think she deserves that dignity. It's her baby. She is the victim here."

Jarrell perhaps best put the case in perspective in her interview with the AP.

"All we hoped for was for [J.D.S.] to be healthy, for the baby to be born healthy and for [J.D.S.] to have a quality of life," Jarrell said. She then added, speaking of the mother, "She's young....She's got a lot of life in her."