JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mother says she was blindsided when she learned doctors had gone to court seeking an emergency C-section while she was in active labor at UF Health Jacksonville.
Cherise Doyley said she wanted to deliver naturally after having three previous C-sections. Instead, she said nurses brought a tablet to her hospital room, where she discovered a judge, attorneys, doctors and hospital staff were on a Zoom call about whether she should undergo the surgery.
The court hearing lasted about three hours while Doyley remained in active labor.
“I didn’t even know what this court hearing was about,” Doyley said. “And when I found out it was to give me a C-section against my will, it was like, I was floored. I was just dumbfounded.”
Watch the court hearing below.
Doyley said the experience was traumatic and dehumanizing.
“Honestly, Tiffany, it was one of the most dehumanizing, traumatic, scary experiences I’ve ever had in my life,” she said.
Judge asked to order emergency C-section
Video of the hearing shows Doyley in her hospital room as the legal proceedings take place remotely.
At one point, she can be heard reacting to the tablet being brought into the room.
“It’s a real judge in here?” she said.
Later, she said, “Now this is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
During the hearing, the judge explained that the state of Florida had filed a petition seeking an emergency C-section.
“The state of Florida has filed a petition for declaratory judgment,” the judge said. “They’re asking for an emergency C-section be granted by the court.”
Doyley said she had not been told beforehand that she would be involved in a court proceeding.
“I did not understand why we were going to court because I didn’t have any notice,” she said. “So the video that is going around on social media of them bringing the tablet into my room was exactly when I found out about the court hearing.”
Doyley is also a professional birthing doula, with experience advocating for patients during labor.
She said she had never heard of a situation like hers.
“I have never heard of this happening,” Doyley said. “That’s why I was so surprised. I did not know that they could do something like this.”
Doyley wanted to avoid another C-section
Doyley said she had already undergone three C-sections, each followed by lengthy recoveries.
She said she communicated to her medical team that she wanted to avoid another C-section and continue laboring naturally.
During the court hearing, Doyley said there was nothing that constituted a medical emergency and that her labor was progressing. She argued that she should have the right to make that decision for herself.
“That is my right,” Doyley said during her testimony. “Because at the end of the day if I die from a C-section nobody on this call is going to take care of my children.”
The judge ultimately allowed Doyley to continue laboring naturally unless an emergency arose.
Doyley said the baby’s heart rate later dropped, and she was taken into surgery.
She ultimately delivered her daughter, Arewa, by C-section.
“I advocated for myself as best as I could without the presence of an advocate or an attorney because I wasn’t allowed one,” she said.
Doyley plans to sue UF Health
It has been about two years since the court-ordered C-section.
Doyley is now preparing to sue UF Health Jacksonville.
She has raised money through a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for legal representation. Her attorneys told News4JAX they have filed a Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation against the hospital.
Under Florida law, medical malpractice claims generally require a pre-suit process that includes a 90-day period before a lawsuit can be filed.
Doyley said she hopes her case leads to greater scrutiny of how pregnant women are treated when they disagree with their medical providers.
“Absolutely,” Doyley said when asked if she hopes to set a precedent for other women. “I think that this case is much bigger than just myself or even one hospital, one set of doctors, but this speaks to a much larger issue of how women are treated in this country when we go to give birth and the issue of reproductive justice and choice in pregnancy.”
Why can this happen?
The case raises questions about when courts can intervene in a pregnant woman’s medical decisions.
According to Pregnancy Justice, Florida is one of 29 states that allows a court to intervene in a pregnant woman’s medical decisions.
The legal argument centers on the state’s interest in protecting an unborn child.
That can create a conflict between a pregnant patient’s right to make decisions about her own medical care and the state’s interest in protecting a fetus.
Doyley’s attorneys are now challenging what happened in her case.
News4JAX reached out to UF Health Jacksonville for comment. The hospital said it could not comment because of patient privacy laws.
