Archives: Legal

CALIFORNIA COUPLES CHALLENGE MARRIAGE DISCRIMINATION LOS ANGELES – This morning, the ACLU of Southern California, together with the ACLU of Northern California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit arguing that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violates the California Constitution’s guarantees of equality, liberty, and privacy. The suit was filed on behalf of six same-sex couples, five of whom had upcoming appointments to obtain marriage licenses at San Francisco’s City Hall. The couples had their appointments cancelled as a result of the California Supreme Court’s order yesterday directing San Francisco to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Two organizations, Our Family Coalition and Equality California, are also parties in the case. “We have an opportunity here to end marriage discrimination in California,” said Martha Matthews, Bohnett Attorney with the ACLU of Southern California. “Loving, committed same-sex couples should not be denied the […]

A black mother told not to scream in labor asks: Can California fix racism in maternity care? Bettye Jean Ford was in her second trimester when the pressure she had been feeling in her abdomen for weeks turned to excruciating pain. She rushed to a Los Angeles emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and sent home with antibiotics. Still cramping severely, the first-time expectant mother spent the next 24 hours trying to sleep. The next morning, her obstetrician found her dilated and sent her to the hospital next door where an ultrasound confirmed she was in labor. Rather than being admitted, she was sent back to the clinic with paperwork to finish. Finally, at 23 weeks and six days, Ford gave birth to a premature baby girl while a nurse told her to close her mouth so as not to scream while pushing. After delivery, […]

Baby Suffers Birth Injuries After Nurse’s Failure To Monitor A California couple has accepted a $9.25 million settlement on behalf of their baby, who suffered hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy following a problem-filled labor.The family faulted the nurses for failing to monitor the baby despite a doctor’s order, among other claims. The 28-year-old mother was seeing a nurse-midwife, who had reported no problems with the pregnancy. When she was 32 weeks pregnant, she called her midwifeto report a problem. The midwife directed the mother to go to the nearest hospital, where an obstetrician arranged for her to be transferred to a hospital with aneonatal intensive care unit and perinatologists on staff. Perinatologists are doctors who focus on babies in high-risk pregnancies. Nurse Did Not Monitor As Ordered After the mother was on bed rest for several days, the baby began to show an abnormally high heart rate, and a perinatologist diagnosed […]

A California couple has accepted a $9.25 million settlement on behalf of their baby, who suffered hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy following a problem-filled labor.The family faulted the nurses for failing to monitor the baby despite a doctor’s order, among other claims. The 28-year-old mother was seeing a nurse-midwife, who had reported no problems with the pregnancy. When she was 32 weeks pregnant, she called her midwifeto report a problem. The midwife directed the mother to go to the nearest hospital, where an obstetrician arranged for her to be transferred to a hospital with aneonatal intensive care unit and perinatologists on staff. Perinatologists are doctors who focus on babies in high-risk pregnancies.

Baby Suffers Birth Injuries After Nurse’s Failure To Monitor A California couple has accepted a $9.25 million settlement on behalf of their baby, who suffered hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy following a problem-filled labor.The family faulted the nurses for failing to monitor the baby despite a doctor’s order, among other claims. The 28-year-old mother was seeing a nurse-midwife, who had reported no problems with the pregnancy. When she was 32 weeks pregnant, she called her midwifeto report a problem. The midwife directed the mother to go to the nearest hospital, where an obstetrician arranged for her to be transferred to a hospital with aneonatal intensive care unit and perinatologists on staff. Perinatologists are doctors who focus on babies in high-risk pregnancies. Nurse Did Not Monitor As Ordered After the mother was on bed rest for several days, the baby began to show an abnormally high heart rate, and a perinatologist diagnosed […]