San Diego

Protesters from two women’s groups appeared in front of a San Diego courtroom Friday morning to demonstrate against a case that tests a woman’s obligations to her unborn fetus.

In the courtroom, a Municipal Court judge released the medical records of a woman who allegedly consumed amphetamines during her pregnancy.

Pamela Rae Stewart, 27, of El Cajon has pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to provide proper medical care to her son, Thomas Travis Edward Monson, who was born Nov. 23 with severe disabilities and died Jan. 1.

The district attorney’s office will attempt to prove that Stewart ignored the advice of her doctor and failed to swiftly seek medical attention, resulting in the disabilities and death of the infant.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Harry. M. Elias subpoenaed Stewart’s records.

Defense attorney Richard J. Boesen said the subpoena was an invasion of privacy.

“We are opening a Pandora’s box with this case,” Boesen said after the judge’s ruling.

Janary Riddle, coordinator for Privacy Rights Organization and Pregnancy Rights Organization, a women’s rights group supporting Stewart, said that “what a woman does during her pregnancy is between her and her doctor and not her and the state.”

Stewart had served six days in county jail and paid a $2,500 bond. Her trial has been set for Dec. 11.