Reno abortion court case focuses on mentally challenged woman

CARSON CITY - Should a mentally challenged adult woman be required to have an abortion over the objections of her parents?

That is a question a Reno judge is trying to answer. The parents don't want to give him that chance.

While the case has not yet received much media attention, that could change quickly because national anti-abortion organizations have latched onto the case and requested that people make their opposition known.

The parents of 32-year-old Elizabeth "Elisa" Bauer filed legal documents Thursday with the state Supreme Court to stop District Judge Egan Walker from holding hearings that could lead to a decision to force their daughter to have an abortion.

The Supreme Court late Friday ordered Walker and the Washoe County Department of Social Services to provide them information by noon Monday on what they want to achieve through the hearings on the woman's pregnancy. Depending on their answers, the high court could block a hearing scheduled for Tuesday or allow it to continue.

Elisa, born in Costa Rica, was adopted by Amy and William Bauer in 1992. They were appointed her guardians when she turned 18. She has the mental and social capacity of a 6-year-old and is an epileptic who suffers from seizures and has been living in a group home.

The father of the fetus is not known. Elisa is thought to have wandered away from the group home, prostituted herself at a truck stop and become pregnant during one of those encounters, according to her lawyers.

She is in the 12th week of her pregnancy. The Bauers are Catholics and oppose her having an abortion.

David Ortiz, one of the lawyers for the pregnant woman, said Friday that they are prepared to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court if Walker orders an abortion.

He added the status hearings that the judge already has conducted with doctors and others about Bauer's pregnancy were illegal because no one formally had sought the hearings.

Ortiz knows of only one similar case in the United States. In January, a mentally challenged Massachusetts woman called Mary Moe was ordered to have an abortion and to be sterilized by a judge.

Although of limited capacity, Moe previously had an abortion and did not want another. An appeals court threw out the decision and chastised the judge, ruling that despite Moe's mental limitations, an abortion would require her consent.

In the lawsuit filed in the Nevada Supreme Court by lawyer Jason Guinasso, the Bauers contend state law leaves "decisions regarding health care, including pregnancy, to the guardian's 'sole discretion.' "

According to Guinasso, Walker ordered a status conference after Washoe County Social Services provided him an "ex parte" report that Elisa was pregnant and her treating physicians had concerns about the medications she has been taking and the effects they might have on her pregnancy.

The lawyer also said the judge rejected the Bauers' request to halt status hearings held in October, contending that he has "inherent" powers to hold such hearings and that state law does not limit him from overriding the authority of guardians.

Walker wants doctors to address the health risks of Elisa's pregnancy at the next hearing Tuesday and for them to consider her mental capacity in the Thursday hearing.

Guinasso contended nothing in the state guardianship law requires guardians to seek judges' permission to make health care decisions for their wards, "including the very personal health care decision whether to carry a pregnancy to term or not."

The Bauers also were blocked by the judge from removing Elisa from the group home.

Instead Walker has allowed Elisa to remain in a facility, "which is not structured in a manner capable of providing adequate supervision for her," Guinasso said.

Stories about the possibility that the woman could be forced to have an abortion originated with LifeSiteNews,com, a family news website started by a Canadian anti-abortion group, and received heavy play Friday on the National Right to Life website.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.