By Compiled from Times wires
Published June 12, 2003
ORLANDO - A woman who lost her bid to be the legal guardian for a mentally disabled woman who is pregnant from a rape has asked a court to appoint her the fetus' guardian.
The attorney for Emelia Belford asked Circuit Judge Lawrence Kirkwood to appoint her as guardian of the fetus for J.D.S., the name the 22-year-old woman is called in court records.
J.D.S., who has the mental ability of a 4-or-5-year-old, became pregnant after being raped in a state-licensed group home in Orlando. She is approaching her third trimester.
Belford had asked to be the woman's guardian, but Kirkwood chose another professional guardian, Patti Jarrell, to make medical, legal and personal decisions for J.D.S. Jarrell is currently obtaining a medical evaluation for J.D.S.
Previously, another woman, Jennifer Wixtrom, asked to be named the fetus' guardian, but Kirkwood denied the request, ruling that Florida law doesn't offer any basis for appointing a guardian for a fetus. Wixtrom is appealing.
The case became the focus of an abortion debate after Gov. Jeb Bush and Department of Children and Families Secretary Jerry Regier, who oppose abortion, overruled regional child welfare officials and ordered them to seek a guardian for the woman's fetus.
The regional DCF officials had said such an appointment would be illegal. Kirkwood said the same.
Mario Cuomo to headline Democrats' big fundraiser
Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo will speak at the Florida Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner on June 28 in Hollywood.
Cuomo will join an estimated 1,500 Democrats for an "Evening with the Stars" at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa. The gala is the state party's biggest fundraising event of the year, and the unofficial coming-out party for Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat that may be vacated by Bob Graham, who is running for president.
Other out-of-state dignitaries expected to attend are New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island.
Health agency settles suit over denied prescriptions
Florida Legal Services and the Florida Transplant Survivors Coalition announced a settlement Wednesday in a class action lawsuit against the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
The coalition filed the lawsuit last year, alleging that some participants in the Medicaid and Medically Needy programs were not given adequate notice when denied prescription drug coverage.
Under the settlement, the state agreed that all those denied prescription coverage will receive written notice explaining the reason and how to appeal. In some cases, patients can continue to receive prescriptions during their appeal. The state agreed to establish an ombudsman office to help resolve rejection claims.
Police say serial rapist attacking girls in Miami
MIAMI - Miami police say DNA tests have established that four recent rape victims were attacked by the same man. Two victims were girls attacked when they came home after school.
Police offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case and swept neighborhoods seeking a man described as Hispanic, Spanish-speaking, between the ages of 30 and 45. Authorities urged parents to tell their children to beware of strangers.
"We will know who he is and we will capture him," said police Deputy Chief Frank Fernandez.
Police were investigating the rapist's potential connection to at least two other cases.
Three young girls have been attacked in area neighborhoods in the span of four weeks.
Two of those cases have been linked to the serial rapist: an 11-year-old who opened the door to a stranger on June 2 and a 13-year-old in West Little Havana who was attacked May 15 after school when a man rushed her from behind.
Police suspect the same man broke into the home of a 12-year-old and raped her June 9, although DNA tests haven't yet confirmed it.
