ROOKE: ‘Now This Is The Craziest Thing I’ve Ever Seen’ — When A Judge Decides How You Give Birth In 3-Hour Hearing

Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images

Pregnant mothers are facing a profound and troubling exception to the principle of bodily autonomy unfolding in their delivery rooms.

While competent adults in virtually every other medical context retain the absolute right to refuse treatment, pregnant women face a starkly different reality. In certain states, including Florida, courts have carved out a unique legal pathway allowing hospitals to seek emergency orders compelling cesarean sections against a woman’s clearly expressed wishes. These interventions transform what should be a collaborative medical decision into a state-enforced procedure in which the mother’s informed refusal is overridden.

A ProPublica/CNN investigation into court-ordered C-sections in Florida detailed how Cherise Doyley, a seasoned birthing doula with three prior children, found herself in labor at University of Florida Health in Jacksonville in September 2024. What should have been a moment of joy turned into a nightmare when hospital staff, deeming her desire for a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) too risky, initiated an emergency court hearing in her delivery room.

“It’s a real judge in there?” Doyley asked the nurse at the beginning of what would be a three-hour hearing. “Now this is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”

She was given no time to prepare or procure legal representation before being given a tablet computer to enter a virtual courtroom. The judge ruled against Doyley, forcing her to have a C-section against her will. She said this decision left her with deep emotional scars that ended her career as a doula and plunged her into postpartum depression.

Cherise Doyley was in her 12th hour of contractions at the hospital when she had to attend a virtual court hearing to decide how she’d give birth. Doyley had no lawyer or advocate — no one to explain to her what, exactly, was going on.https://t.co/u5Eq5GlCM4 — ProPublica (@propublica) March 15, 2026

Cherise Doyley was in her 12th hour of contractions at the hospital when she had to attend a virtual court hearing to decide how she’d give birth.

Doyley had no lawyer or advocate — no one to explain to her what, exactly, was going on.https://t.co/u5Eq5GlCM4

— ProPublica (@propublica) March 15, 2026

Similarly, in 2023, Brianna Bennett, a mother of three, sought a VBAC at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital to better manage her family responsibilities post-birth. After prolonged labor (24 hours), the hospital enlisted the state attorney, leading to a court order for surgery. Bennett endured a complicated 2.5-hour procedure involving scar tissue removal and a T-shaped incision, requiring a wound vacuum and warnings against future pregnancies. Bennett filed a federal civil rights complaint, which lingers unresolved, while she grapples with daily tears and trauma. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

In most medical contexts, competent adults have the absolute right to refuse treatment, even if it endangers their life. Yet, pregnancy creates a glaring exception, where courts can compel invasive procedures on women under the guise of the baby’s protection. To make matters worse, these court-ordered C-sections occur despite the clear opposition of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which has stated that such coerced interventions are “ethically impermissible” and should be strongly discouraged.

The physical toll on these women cannot be overstated. C-sections are not minor procedures. They are major surgeries, involving incisions through the abdomen and uterus. While lifesaving in emergencies, they carry risks far outweighing vaginal births. A woman who has multiple C-sections drastically increases her chances of scar tissue buildup, placenta problems, and future complications, according to the Mayo Clinic. The American Pregnancy Association lists heightened risks of infections at the incision and in the uterus or bladder. Women are also at an increased risk of hemorrhaging, leading to anemia or blood transfusions and organ injuries.

Women who undergo these surgeries are often told they are routine, which is technically true in that 32.4 percent of U.S. births in 2024 happened via C-section, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the procedure and recovery are hardly routine.

I birthed 3 kids in the US, but I no longer recognize this country. “The hospital and state attorney’s office wanted to force Doyley to undergo a cesarean section. Doyley, a professional birthing doula, didn’t want that and had been firm about it.” https://t.co/4GWB5NBCFA pic.twitter.com/1RtZ2z6q1y — Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) March 14, 2026

I birthed 3 kids in the US, but I no longer recognize this country.

“The hospital and state attorney’s office wanted to force Doyley to undergo a cesarean section. Doyley, a professional birthing doula, didn’t want that and had been firm about it.” https://t.co/4GWB5NBCFA pic.twitter.com/1RtZ2z6q1y

— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) March 14, 2026

Postoperative care often falls short of what such major surgery demands. Standard hospital stays last only 2–4 days, with limited emphasis on comprehensive recovery. Many women are discharged with basic instructions for pain management, incision care, and gradual activity, but without routine referrals to physical therapy, which can dramatically improve outcomes by addressing scar tissue mobility, reducing adhesions, teaching safe core activation and posture for newborn care. Many women, myself included (I have had four c-sections), suffer from chronic pain after surgery, which was never discussed as a possibility before the procedures.

Gentle exercises, breathing techniques, and supervised mobility help restore strength, flexibility, and function. Still, mothers are given little to no literature about the benefits. Women frequently navigate recovery in isolation, managing wound vacuums, mobility challenges, and newborn demands without adequate support, prolonging physical suffering and emotional strain.

Doyley and Bennett are not alone in this tragedy. This is happening to millions of women. A Health Services Research survey from 2015 found that over 10 percent (13.3 percent) of women feel pressured into C-sections by medical professionals. As the number of C-sections rises every year, it’s hard not to wonder how many of these women felt forced into having major surgery. (ROOKE: Liberal Writer Wants Women To Surrender Most Irreplaceable Experience Of Being A Woman)

When courts compel these surgeries on informed, mentally competent women who understand and accept the risks, the physical and emotional wound deepens. Doyley, a doula advocating for natural births, entered labor informed and prepared. One of her prior C-sections included a hemorrhage, but she weighed this against her desire for a VBAC, supported by evidence that it’s a safe option. Bennett also understood the risks but knew the better option for caring for her newborn and family would be to avoid major surgery.

The courts didn’t care about either woman’s consent, and both suffered as a result.

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