Women in New Jersey can block a baby's father from the delivery room.
A state judge, citing a woman's right to privacy, ruled the mother can decide who will be with them when giving birth.
In an opinion released Monday, the Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed cited privacy rights outlined in two federal abortion cases.
"Any interest a father has before the child’s birth is subordinate to the mother’s interests," Mohammed wrote. "Even when there is no doubt that a father has shown deep and proper concern and interest in the growth and development of the fetus, the mother is the one who must carry it to term."
The case was argued over the telephone last year in Passaic County while Rebecca DeLuccia went into labor and delivered a girl. Her estranged fiance, Steven Plotnick, wanted access to the baby at birth.
Plotnick's attorney, Laura Nunnink, tells The Star-Ledger of Newark it was important to her client to bond with the baby.
"It was important that he have the right to bond just as the mother would. … It was unfair that he not have that right from the day the child was born."
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DeLuccia's lawyer, Joanna Brick, says DeLuccia was going to allow Plotnick to visit.
