Sara Pequeño: They didn’t want to have C-sections. A judge forced them to

Fetal personhood laws have been reaching new extremes in the post-Roe v. Wade era. A new ProPublica investigation shows just how far states are willing to go to invalidate pregnant people’s wishes in the interest of protecting an unborn child.

Cherise Doyley arrived at the University of Florida Health hospital in September 2024 with the intent of having a vaginal birth. The pregnant mother of three had her other children via cesarean section and experienced complications from those, including a hemorrhage.

Doctors, concerned about the possibility of uterine rupture with a vaginal birth, recommended Doyley have a C-section. Doyley said she wouldn’t consent without at least trying to have a vaginal delivery first.

The hospital didn’t agree. After several hours, a nurse came into her room with a bedsheet and a tablet. On the screen was a judge, lawyers, doctors and hospital staff. Doyley was in virtual court for failing to agree to a C-section.

“Now this is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Doyley said at the beginning of the hearing.

“Crazy” is an apt descriptor for what Doyley, a birthing doula who understood the risk of uterine rupture to be less than 2%, was coerced into. She had to attend a court hearing while in labor with mere minutes to prepare, and no lawyer or court advocate was present on her behalf.

This is the inevitable conclusion of the fight to control women’s bodies. Not only are they being denied lifesaving care in some instances, but in others, they’re undergoing forced surgery.

This is how far the pro-life, fetal personhood movement will go to regulate the bodies of pregnant patients.

Doyley’s story is uncommon but not unique. The exact same thing happened to Brianna Bennett at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in 2023.

Bennett, a mother of three who wanted to have a vaginal birth because of concerns from previous C-sections, was in labor for more than 24 hours when doctors began to press for a cesarean section. When she refused, the hospital sought an emergency motion and soon Bennett was on screen with a judge. The judge ultimately ordered her to have a C-section.

Twenty-nine states have laws that invalidate a pregnant person’s advance directives, allowing hospitals to take over and do what they presume is best against the wishes of their patients.

These stories are horrific reminders of what happens when the state has more control over your body than you do. This is what happens when female body autonomy is no longer protected by the U.S. government. The state can force you to go through with a pregnancy you don’t want, then it can force your hand as to how you have your child.

This is exactly what happens when states decide that embryos are people, and that unborn children have more rights than the people who are carrying them in their wombs.

Both women ultimately had their babies via cesarean sections, despite their wishes. While these two instances are rare, they exemplify a greater attempt to control the bodies of women.

Women, particularly women of color, have had their bodies regulated by the government for generations. We aren’t that far off from the era of forced sterilization. There are women who have died from being denied abortion care when their pregnancies were killing them. Now, there are women who have had surgery forced upon them by the state.

This dehumanization was always going to happen after the right took control and overturned Roe v. Wade. Women are no longer able to make these decisions for their own health care and are instead being forced into whatever the state wants them to do.

The government will force you to go through with pregnancy, and it will force you to have your child on its terms.

Follow USA Today columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social