A probate judge’s order to abort a mentally ill woman’s unborn baby and sterilize her — if it meant she had to be “coaxed, bribed, or even enticed ... by ruse” into the procedure — has prompted a legal tongue-lashing from an appeals court, and outrage from even abortion rights supporters.
“No party requested this measure ... and the judge appears to have simply produced the requirement out of thin air,” state Appellate Court Associate Justice Andrew R. Grainger wrote, reversing newly retired Norfolk Probate and Family Court Judge Christina Harms’ Jan. 6 ruling in the case, handing the abortion decision to another judge.
Even in Massachusetts, where judicial arrogance and abuse are commonplace (remember the state supreme court completely inventing a new definition of marriage?) this story is gasp-inducing. The idea that a schizophrenic woman would be in danger of a forced sterilization at the whim of a judge simply doesn’t occur to most people. but they don’t know the Massachusetts judiciary.
Oh, and any surprise about who appointed this extremist to the court?
Harms retired Jan. 11. Efforts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful. Appointed by Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1989, Harms, a Harvard Law School graduate, was a former general counsel to the state Department of Social Services, now Children and Families.
Ah, the good old days when a woman who believed in forced abortions and sterilization was running the state Department of Children and Families.
Newt Gingrich was right: “Please don’t turn America into Massachusetts!”



"The truth is something [Warren] probably prefers not to confront. Harvard doesn’t come calling just because you’re a smart lawyer and a terrific teacher — not with Warren’s modest, Oklahoma upbringing and non-Ivy League education. She is not your typical Harvard professor. At a certain point, when the law school was under pressure to promote diversity, she represented a three-fer: a great lawyer with a national profile, a woman, and a minority, at least by virtue of family lore. "
-- Joan Vennochi

