I saw this article and thought I'd share it with you all... a judge in NJ ruled that a woman in fact does have the right to keep the biological father out of the delivery room after the father sued for the right to be present at the birth. I wasn't even aware that a hospital wouldn't support a woman deciding who was in the room with her- what if an abusive ex was the father and insisted on being in there?!?! It only applies if the biological father isn't married to the mother, which has me horrified for the women whose soon to be ex's aren't quite out of the picture yet. Apparently the decision was partially based on the old Roe v. Wade case as well as an old Planned Parenthood abortion case.
Honestly, while it takes two to make the baby, I can't see why it wouldn't be up to the woman who is in the delivery room with her. If you have surgery, you're not forced to have someone with you, so you shouldn't be forced to have someone in the room you're uncomfortable with. I'm certainly not arguing for keeping the baby from the father (a whole separate issue), but labor is about mom doing the work to produce a healthy child while still remaining healthy herself, and this includes mental health (i.e., her comfort) as well in my opinion. Am I crazy?
My sweet little munchkin!
8 lbs, 13 oz. 21" long
Re: Ruling on women's delivery room rights
In the same vain, does that mean the wife of a man has the right to be in the room when he gets a vasectomy?!? The whole thing is ridiculous.
I can see the mans point about wanting to be there if rolls were reversed I know I would want to be there.