PHOENIX – The 29-year-old rape victim who gave birth at Hacienda HealthCare in Arizona last month is not in a coma and is…
PHOENIX – The 29-year-old rape victim who gave birth at Hacienda HealthCare in Arizona last month is not in a coma and is able to recognize family and respond to them in a limited way, the attorney representing her said Friday.
«The important thing here is that contrary to what’s been reported, she is a person, albeit with significant intellectual disabilities. She has feelings and is capable of responding to people she is familiar with, especially family,» attorney John Micheaels told The Arizona Republic on Friday.
Micheaels said the woman’s condition was the result of seizures very early in her childhood. She is still on seizure medication.
The woman gave birth to a boy Dec. 29 at the Phoenix healthcare facility for people with intellectual disabilities. Staff members told a 911 operator that they had not known she was pregnant.
According to court records, the woman, who is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, has been a patient at Hacienda for 26 years. The records say the woman is «not alert» and needs a «maximum level of care.»
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The woman’s rehabilitation potential, prognosis and potential for being discharged are always listed as «poor» in medical records that are part of her guardianship file in Maricopa County Superior Court.
