Battle over Florida boy’s circumcision enters federal court
Published 4:00 pm Monday, May 18, 2015
- In this undated photo provided by the Broward Sheriff's Office, Heather Hironimus is shown. Hironimus, who went missing with her 4-year-old child nearly three months ago to avoid the circumcision of her son, was arrested Thursday, May 14, 2015, for contempt of court, her attorney said. Hironimus and the boy's father, Dennis Nebus, have been warring since her pregnancy. They were never married but share custody of their child, and in a parenting agreement filed in court, the two agreed to the boy's circumcision. The mother later changed her mind, though, giving way to a long legal battle. (Broward Sheriff’s Office via AP)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The case of a Florida woman who fled to avoid her son’s circumcision is entering a federal courtroom for the first time.
Thirty-one-year-old Heather Hironimus was arrested Thursday in the long-running dispute over the removal of her 4-year-old child’s foreskin. She went missing with the boy nearly three months ago and ignored a judge’s warnings that if she didn’t appear in court and give consent for the circumcision to proceed, she faced jail.
The case originated in state courts but will be heard in a federal courtroom Monday in West Palm Beach. An attorney for Hironimus filed a federal civil rights complaint as legal options faded.
A judge is due to hear a motion asking for a restraining order against the boy’s father to keep the surgery from happening.
