Texas Judge Tells Woman To Stop Having Kids!

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by Lamar Tyler | on September 17th, 2008 | 9 comments

Hat tip to blacknessdefined for this article.

A Texas judge decided to tell a woman that a condition of her parole is that she not have any more children. This was after her 19 month old child was beaten by the child’s father who has been sentenced to jail time. The baby has been removed from the home and as a condition for the 20 year old woman’s probation she was told to stop having kids.

Some people including law professors think this may be unconstitutional and unenforceable even if she were to become pregnant. You can view the entire story here.

BMWK is this the right thing to do? Does a judge have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body? Should she be jailed if she does get pregnant since this was a condition of her probation?

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

Anna

This has been done and challenged before, it is unconstitutional.
Jackie

It may be unconstitutional and i believe it could have been handled better but let’s think about the kids. The most important thing that our children need is love and stability.
Ruby128

It is unconstitutional but so is a lot of other stuff…unforunately some people are not fit to be parents. I do believe that if the parent is mentally unbalanced then they need to helped as well. But mistreatment of children crosses the line in many ways..like my mother always says…”children don’t ask to come here so if you don’t want them and you’re not going to treat them right then you should have left them where they were”.
http://stellarsassysocial.blogspot.com elle denise

She should’ve “suggested” that he bleach his teeth…

LOL!

Steph G

LOL!

http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com TheMom

I don’t like it. She might be unfit now..but she is only 20 years old.. she has time to mature and to change. How about mandating some parental training..or some other courses. Mandate that she go live with some people that are willing to take her in and show her a better way of life..there areso many things that he could have done. I think this is racist.

TheMoms last blog post..Can Men and Women Be Friends?
Kiki Michelle

The situation is unfortunate, but telling the woman to have no more children is illogical. This is unconstitutional and un-American; the judge needs to be knocked upside his head. Truly she is a child, the fact that she has gone through this MAY make her a better mother. People change and mature because of the things they experience. Honestly this can not be controlled or even enforced.
stopthebabies

While you may not the messenger, there are TOOOOOO many woman having babies for the wrong reasons. Just because you can have baby does not mean you should. The problem is that these woman are not in STABLE relationships and yet CHOOSE to have babies. Bottomline, if you can’t afford to raise that child on your own without a man’s help, you should not have a baby. Also, IF YOU KNOW THE MAN IS NOT INTERESTED in having a baby, you SHOULD NOT HAVE THE BABY unless you are prepared to raise a child on your own.

Too often, woman have children not because they really want to raise a child BUT TO trap a man. Please realize, a baby does not keep a man. Again, just because you can have a baby does not mean you should. If you decide to have a baby when you know the MALE has NO interest…that is on you.

I agree with the judge…woman need to stop having all these babies…you know what he means because typically they have multiple baby dadies. STOP IT! Concerned Black woman!!
Anna

@ stopthebabies
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Woman don’t get pregnant by themselves and not all are trying to trap a man. just irresponsibility. I tell my kids it is their body and their responsibility to use birth control. Never rely on soneone else to tell you what to do with your body. I also tell my daughter that just because you are on the pill he better wrap it up. There are worse things than having a baby. America has a high rate of STD’s that is preventable. I will add that lots of woman who have babies only do so because they could not afford an abortion. I know that is sad to say but for some abortion is their form of birth control. I also tell my son never to believe a woman that says she is on the pill or using some other form of birth control. I tell him unless you want to share your paycheck with someone other than Uncle Sam you better wear a condom.