DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Florida woman’s years-long battle with her child’s father over the boy’s circumcision ended Friday after she agreed to the procedure in exchange for her release from jail.
In a turnaround after a week behind bars for contempt and an initial hearing in which she was ordered to remain jailed, court reconvened, and Heather Hironimus signed paperwork giving approval for the 4-yearold boy’s surgery, recoiling in tears and clasping her shackled hands after it was done.
She remained jailed Friday afternoon and was due back in court Tuesday on a separate criminal charge of interfering with child custody. It was not clear how soon she would be released. Attorneys for both Hironimus and the boy’s father, Dennis Nebus, declined to comment, citing an ongoing gag order in the case.
Georganne Chapin, executive director of Intact America, which advocates against circumcision, said Hironimus had been “bullied” into signing, calling it the “saddest commentary on the court.”
Hironimus and Nebus had initially agreed to the circumcision in a parenting agreement filed in court, but the mother later changed her mind. Circuit and appellate judges sided with the father, but potential surgeons backed out after failing to get the mother’s consent and becoming the target of protesters.
Hironimus disappeared with the boy in February, ignoring warnings from Gillen to be in court and allow the circumcision to proceed. She remained missing until her arrest last week, staying in a domestic violence shelter. With her legal options dwindling, she filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of her son, looking for a solution outside state court.