FL - Judge: DCF, Bush exploited disabled woman in rape case

[soup]

ORLANDO - A Florida judge Monday accused Gov. Jeb Bush's administration and state welfare officials of exploiting the case of a mentally disabled rape victim to build a national debate on fetal rights and abortion.

Circuit Judge Lawrence Kirkwood said in a judicial order that actions by the Department of Children & Families have been ''adverse'' to the 23-year-old retarded woman, known in court papers only as J.D.S. The woman was a ward of the state agency.
>snip<

The baby girl was born at the end of last month. She is referred to as Baby S and is at a foster home under the supervision of DCF.
>snip<

''This court is concerned that Baby S will be forgotten, lost or languish in foster care,'' the judge wrote.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/6781358.htm

Thank you, Judge Kirkwood!

[Noordam]

1. Thank you Judge Baby S and J.D.S will have

outstanding care from DCF NOW. BUT ONLY NOW.

[Racenut20]

2. Yep ! Thats the way things are done

Here in Busch/Byrd land.

[outinforce]

3. What Else Did the Judge Say?

Does anyone know if the judge actually suggested that it would have been better for Baby S if she had been killed in utero?

[soup]

4. Judge Kirkwood wasn't involved

(as far as I know) at the time the court decided that the woman was physically able to continue the pregnancy.

He came into play when the state (jeb and DCF) were trying to get a separate guardian appointed solely for the fetus. The baby was born before the decision was made, but the case of whether a guardian can be appointed for a fetus is still under consideration.

Here's a good article with more background on what's going on- the neglect of the state to appoint a guardian for the woman, and a report of her former caretakers' arrests:
Suspect in rape of J.D.S. arrested

on EDIT: um, never mind. I need more coffee.

[meow2u3]

5. It's not what the judge said; it's what he implied

That Jeb Bush intended to use a disabled woman, and her child, as pawns to advance his political agenda. His Honor implied that Jebbie couldn't care less about the health and well-being of either the mother not the kid--only that the kid was born. Preserving and protecting life for all the wrong reasons, motive being an issue no one ever bothers to bring up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. For conservatives, life begins at conception and ends at birth.

The judge just wanted to make sure that Jebbie was as committed to that child's welfare after birth, as he was after conception.