Fighting for a Disabled Mother's Right to See Her Children

Myrtle Beach, SC - Growing up, Abbie Dorn always dreamed of becoming a mother.

Abbie Dorn endured brain damage following childbirth and lost her kids.

Now, at age 34, she is the mother of three healthy toddlers. Her home is filled with pictures of the children -- triplets named Esti, Reuvi and Yossi.

But in the four years since her children were born, Dorn has not been able to talk to them. She can't hold them or watch them play.

That's because Dorn suffered severe brain damage following their birth.

Now, while her children run and play in their Los Angeles home, Dorn's family -- more than 2,500 miles away in Myrtle Beach, S.C., is locked in a legal battle with the children's father to grant Dorn the right to see her children.

The family's lawsuit, which could make it's way into a courtroom as early as next month, could become a landmark legal case defining what it means for someone to be a parent, especially when that parent is disabled.

Dorn's story began happily in 2002. After graduating from college in Ohio and becoming a chiropractor in Atlanta, Dorn married Dan Dorn, a devoutly religious man who shared her orthodox Jewish beliefs.

They settled in Los Angeles near his family and began planning a family of their own. But they struggled to conceive. After turning to fertility treatments, the couple finally received word in the fall of 2005 that they were expecting triplets.

"She was so excited to be pregnant -- she was beginning to say 'I don't know if I'll ever get to be a mother,'" Dorn's mother, Susan Cohen, said.

But happiness turned into heartbreak after Dorn delivered the three children. What happened in the hospital in the hours after the triplets were born is unclear. And the case was eventually settled out of court for more than $7 million. What the family does know is that Dorn began bleeding internally. Her injury was not caught soon enough, and after a series of missteps, Dorn's brain was deprived of oxygen, leaving her severely disabled.

Since the day her three children were born, Dorn has required around the clock care. She is unable to speak or move on her own and remains in bed unless one of her caretakers moves her to a chair.

Read the full story at ABC News

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Abbie
• Dorn
• Orthodox
• Jewish
• Disabled
• Mother
• Myrtle
• Beach

[zubawanga]

In the future when the child is all grown up and know what their father did to their mother, he will have a lot to answer for and in the end, it will come between the grown up children and their father. Whether they will forgive him or abandon him just like what he did to their mother.

Karma is a bitch.

[Rachgless]

Absolutely shocking that the father won't let the mother see her babies!!!

[ALALHAMADANI]

Sad stor lol

[LadyShyye]

The father should think! what if He were in a bad accident and couldn't function like "normal" but understood what was said to him.. would He want His kids kept from knowing him!!?? That woman Carried 3 babies and married this jerk and He want let their children see her>! kids have to deal with all sorts of situations as they grow. would The father Abandon a disabled baby if ")NE" of the triplets was disabled!!??? I see Her winning her rights to see children she BIRTHED> She did not abuse any

[210482fmj]

It's terrible to see just how dangerous being pregnant can be for a women.

[EasternMerchant]

@SarahhZee "God if that happened to me I would just want to die!" The Sad Truth is..... if you are in that condition, I don't think there's anyway you can express your desire to kill yourself, and I doubt your relatives would even grant you that wish, you would just be a prisoner in your body until your natural Death!

[pissant1011]

I mean their father

[pissant1011]

I agree with zubawanga when the children grow up they will resent them father for this

[cityisonfire1]

this is fucked up... who thinks they can take that right from someone else?

[multisnootylives1]

that woman deserves to see her children.  I am sorry that something bad happened to her

[MattheCrazyScientist]

F*** the dad.

[SarahhZee]

God if that happened to me I would just want to die