Larrimore v. Doe

4 Pa. D. & C.4th 186, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 117
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Blair County
DecidedSeptember 25, 1989
Docketno. 3686 Equity of 1989
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Pa. D. & C.4th 186 (Larrimore v. Doe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Blair County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Larrimore v. Doe, 4 Pa. D. & C.4th 186, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 117 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1989).

Opinion

CALLAN, J.,

Plaintiff Keith Larrimore and X, an unborn child, filed a [187]*187motion for a preliminary injunction and an action for declaratory relief. Plaintiffs seek a judicial declaration holding that the Abortion Control Act is unconstitutional on seven separate grounds as it relates to plaintiff.

Plaintiff’s petition for preliminary injunction was heard by this court as the final matter in motions court on September 18, 1989.

Plaintiffs asserted that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Webster changed the status of the law concerning abortion. Plaintiffs also asserted that the Danforth decision was not controlling and was distinguishable.

On the basis that the law was not clear as to the issues presented in the wake of Webster, this court granted the preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo pending a final hearing. This court was concerned about the plaintiff’s standing but desired time to review the Webster decision. If the case law had supported the plaintiffs and no injunction issued, the harm done was irreparable. Making no decision on the very date that the abortion was scheduled was the same as denying the petition.

The date of the hearing was set on the continuation resulting in the injunctioii for September 27, 1989 at 10 a.m., but moved forward by this court to September 25, 1989 to be in compliance with rule 1531(d) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure which required a hearing within five days of the granting of a preliminary injunction.

An application for stay or dissolution of this court’s preliminary injunction was filed with the Pennsylvania Superior Court on or about September 19, 1989. A notice of appeal was filed on or about September 20, 1989.*

The docket record was mailed to the Superior [188]*188Court on or about September 21, 1989. This case is also now pending before the Superior Court.

All matters of record, including the application for stay and brief in support thereof, and briefs submitted, have been reviewed by this court; and having heard argument this date by the attorneys for each side, we proceed to disposition of this case.

ISSUES

(I) Does plaintiff Larrimore have standing to seek the relief requested?

(II) Does X, an unborn child, have standing to seek the relief requested?

FINDINGS OF FACTS

Plaintiff Keith Larrimore asserts that he is the father of X, an unborn child. Mr. Larrimore was informed by Jane Doe on or about September . 14, 1989 that she was expecting a baby and that he was the father. Jane Doe indicated to plaintiff, Larrimore, that she intended to have an abortion performed in Pittsburgh on Monday, September 18, 1989.

Soon after learning of the pregnancy and Jane Doe’s intention to have an abortion, Mr. Larrimore sought legal advice which resulted in the instant matter being presented to the Blair County courts. On Friday, September 15, 1989, an order to show cause was issued by Judge Peoples of the court of common pleas. The rule returnable was scheduled for Monday, September 18, 1989, at motions court. Jane Doe was served with the order to show cause at about 6 p.m. on Friday, September 15, 1989.

This court received the petition and complaint, in this case, at or about 9 a.m. on*September 18, 1989. That same morning Jane Doe called the court [189]*189administrator’s office to indicate that she could not attend the hearing; and was also unable to obtain legal counsel. .

Plaintiff Larrimore testified and offered one witness. The thrust of the testimony was to establish that Mr. Larrimore had known Jane Doe for about two-and-a half months, but had been intimate with her, and that he was the father of X, an unborn child. The length of pregnancy was determined to be in the fifth or sixth week, clearly within the first trimester.

In early July, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its most recent opinion dealing with the abortion issue, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. _, 106 L.Ed. 2d 410, 109 S.Ct. _ (1989) (hereinafter and before referred to as Webster.)

DISCUSSION

This case raises what has been called by Justice Blackmun, “the most politically divisive domestic legal issue of our time.” Webster, 106. L.Ed. 2d at 463. This court echoes the feelings expressed by Justice Reardon in his dissenting opinion in Doe v. Doe, 314 N.E. 2d 128, 62 A.L.R. 3d 1082 (1974).

“The resolution of the issues presented by the bill before the court requires entry by the court into areas of such delicacy and perplexity that the usually adequate tools of judicial scrutiny appear crude and clumsy, ill-suited to the task at hand.”

It would be. relatively simple for this court to sidestep or avoid this case. It is a general concept of our system of law in this commonwealth that once an appeal has been taken to the Superior Court, the court of common pleas is divested of authority to act. However, this court does not avoid a* case merely because it is a political hot potato.

[190]*190This cdurt cannot be affected by or sensitive to outside pressures. The court would note that the number of out-of-court statements by participants on both sides of this case, as well as absolute statements of the wrongness of this court’s decisions, only underscore the nature of the controversy. This most divisive legal issue cannot be resolved in this court. This issue is for the legislative, not the judicial, branch of government.

In this forum, in this court, the issues presented have been and will be decided on the facts and the law. There is no room in this legal forum for the absolutes reflected by both sides of this case. This court cannot make moral judgments, only legal determinations.

This court fails its oath of office to even attempt to avoid this or any other case, barring a conflict of interest. This court had the authority to grant the preliminary injunction on the basis of a colorable claim to standing, and the immediate harm which would have resulted if no action had been taken.

In Coleman v. Coleman, 57 Md. App. 755, 471 A.2d 1115 (1984), a temporary restraining order issued on January 6, 1984 upon petition of the husband seeking to prevent his wife from having an abortion. The court in Coleman, after a hearing on January 13, 1984, a period of seven days after the entry of the temporary order, dissolved that order and denied injunctive relief to the husband.

This court has not been divested of its authority to hear this case because of the Superior Court’s involvefnent. When an ex parte injunction issues, prior to a hearing to continue the injunction, such hearing is an integral part of the proceedings. An appeal taken prior to the hearing is premature and in violation of the Rules of Civil Procedure. United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America, [191]*191v. Sherman, 352 Pa. 133, 41 A.2d 86 (1945); Roth v. Columbia Distributing Company of Allentown, 371 Pa. 297, 89 A.2d 824 (1952).

Having established jurisdiction, this court turns to the legal issues presented. This court could find no case which has been decided after a review of the Webster decision. While defendants cites Arnold v.

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Related

Roe v. Wade
410 U.S. 113 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
492 U.S. 490 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Roth v. Columbia Distributing Co.
89 A.2d 825 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1952)
Planned Parenthood Association v. Fitzpatrick
401 F. Supp. 554 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1975)
Doe v. Doe
314 N.E.2d 128 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1974)
Coleman v. Coleman
471 A.2d 1115 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1984)
United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers v. Sherman
352 Pa. 133 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1945)

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Bluebook (online)
4 Pa. D. & C.4th 186, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/larrimore-v-doe-pactcomplblair-1989.