ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
Jury convicts driver in teen abortion case
LAPORTE, Pa. - A woman who drove a 13-year-old girl across state lines to avoid Pennsylvania's tough abortion laws was convicted Tuesday on a charge that could put her in jail for seven years.
The prosecutor rejected the claim by abortion-rights activists that the case was a historic challenge to the rights of women.
``We never considered this case to be a challenge to abortion rights,'' said District Attorney Max Little. ``We considered it to be about the rights of a parent.''
A jury found Rosa Hartford guilty of interfering with the custody of a minor when she drove the teen, who had been impregnated by her stepson, to an abortion clinic in New York.
Pennsylvania's law includes a mandatory 24-hour waiting period before women can obtain an abortion, and requires those under 18 to have a parent's consent. New York has no age or consent restrictions.
The teen's mother told the jury she found out about the pregnancy from her daughter's friends.
Hartford, 39, faces up to seven years in prison on the third-degree felony charge. Before the trial, Little said he would not seek a jail sentence - only try to send a message.
Hartford's 19-year-old stepson pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape.
- Associated Press
Doctors: Put babies to sleep on backs
BOSTON - In a change in policy, the nation's largest group of pediatricians recommended Tuesday that babies be put to bed on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
The 53,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics previously recommended that babies sleep face-up or on their side. But infants who sleep on their side can roll over onto their stomach, thereby increasing the risk of SIDS.
Babies who sleep face-up are less likely to suffer SIDS than those who sleep on their sides. And both positions are far safer than sleeping face-down.
A baby should be placed on its back until age 1, or until it can roll onto its back unaided, the group said.
- Associated Press
Charges dropped against `rude' couple
CHICAGO - A couple arrested at a food fair after making a rude remark to President Clinton - and then hailed on conservative radio shows as victims of an imperial presidency - were cleared of disorderly conduct charges Tuesday.
After misdemeanor charges were dropped in Cook County for lack of evidence, city officials surprised the courtroom by saying they may file municipal charges against the couple.
Glenn and Patricia Mendoza, both 32, of Westchester, were arrested July2 at the Taste of Chicago fair after President Clinton approached them and Patricia Mendoza responded with a rude remark.
She said the remark was, ``You suck, and those boys died,'' in reference to the June 25 attack of a U.S. installation in Saudi Arabia that left 19 American airmen dead. Secret Service agents initially said they heard something else that could have been taken as a threat against the president.
- Associated Press
D.C. curfew ruled unconstitutional
WASHINGTON - A federal court Tuesday declared a curfew law in the nation's capital unconstitutional, ruling it violated the rights of minors and parents.
The decision came in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union last November on behalf of a group of eight teen-agers, four parents and a local business.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order rejecting the district's argument that children were protected by the curfew, which took effect Sept.20, 1995. The law set curfews of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays and midnight to 6 a.m. on weekends for children under 17.
- Associated Press
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