New Jersey Judge Rules Women Can Keep Fathers Out Of Delivery Room

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A New Jersey judge likely made history this week when he released an opinion that found women can keep the biological father of their children out of the delivery room.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that the ruling involves a couple who got engaged after the woman became pregnant but later broke up. The man sued for the right to be present at the birth of his child. Jennifer filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"The case was argued by telephone — while the New Jersey woman was in the hospital to give birth. "The judge ruled that requiring the father's presence would pose 'unwarranted strain' on the mother. "He cited a patient's right to privacy and a pregnant woman's right to control her body. The ruling says women also are not obligated to inform a father when they're going into labor. Some fathers' rights groups say the decision is discriminatory. The New Jersey ruling applies only to biological fathers not married to the mother. "Across the U.S., more than 40 percent of births are outside marriage."

The Newark Star-Ledger digs deep into the opinion, which was made public Monday. The paper reports that Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed writes that this is likely the first opinion of its kind in the United States.

Mohammed, the paper reports, based his opinion on two landmark Supreme Court cases — Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey -- related to abortion.

The paper explains: