STATE : Birth-Control Order Stands

A judge refused today to rescind his previous order requiring a woman convicted of child abuse to have a birth-control implant or go to prison.

“I find no case that precludes the order I made and will leave the issue to higher courts,” Tulare County Superior Court Judge Howard R. Broadman said.

Defense attorney Charles Rothbaum told reporters that he would not pursue an opening Broadman left--that he would consider dropping that condition of probation if a doctor says the implants are not safe for Darlene Johnson, who has a heart murmur and high blood pressure. Instead, Rothbaum said he will appeal on grounds that Broadman violated his client’s constitutional right to privacy. “There is a fundamental right to reproduce,” Rothbaum said during the hearing.