Akron City Hospital v. Anderson

• Decision Date: 24 July 1981
• Docket Number: No. 79CVF8963,79CVF8963
• Citation: 68 Ohio Misc. 14,22 O.O.3d 238,428 N.E.2d 472
• Parties: , 22 O.O.3d 238 AKRON CITY HOSPITAL v. ANDERSON.
• Court: Ohio Court of Common Pleas

Page 14

68 Ohio Misc. 14

428 N.E.2d 472, 22 O.O.3d 238

AKRON CITY HOSPITAL v. ANDERSON.

No. 79CVF8963.

Akron Municipal Court, Ohio.

July 24, 1981.

Syllabus by the Court

1. A noncustodial father is not liable for an elective abortion performed on his minor daughter, which procedure was neither requested nor authorized by him. (R. C. 3103.03.)

2. A third party cannot hold a noncustodial parent liable for an elective abortion performed on a minor child where there was no showing that such parent had refused or neglected to provide for the minor child's support or medical care.

Joseph H. Kahn, Akron, for plaintiff.

Michael J. Rose, Columbus, for defendant.

SCHNEIDERMAN, Judge.

This cause came on for trial upon the complaint of the plaintiff, Akron City Hospital, and against the defendants, Eugene Anderson and Rose Anderson, for the sum of $1,085.72.

Judgment had been previously granted to plaintiff, Akron City Hospital, against the defendant Rose Anderson in an entry filed July 2, 1981, as she was in default of any motion, pleading, or appearance.

STATEMENT OF FACTS.

The parties agreed on most of the pertinent facts:

Defendants were once husband and wife and as a result of that marriage gave birth to a daughter, Beverly Anderson. The defendants were divorced in 1975 and defendant Rose Anderson was granted the care, custody and control of the minor children, including Beverly.

In August, 1978, Beverly Anderson, then 15 years of age, and being pregnant and in her second trimester, was admitted to Akron City Hospital for an elective abortion. Ms. Anderson was a patient at Akron City Hospital from August 23 through August 28, 1978.

Both Rose Anderson and her minor daughter, Beverly, consented to the hospital admission and the abortion.

Defendant Eugene Anderson did not agree to or consent to Beverly's hospital admission or her abortion. Further, defendant Eugene Anderson had no knowledge of her pregnancy or of the abortion until after her release from the hospital. Defendant Eugene Anderson did not at any time agree to the services performed by plaintiff, Akron City Hospital, or agree to pay for those services.

The plaintiff brought this action against defendants for necessaries furnished to their minor daughter in the reasonable sum of $1,085.72. The remaining defendant Eugene Anderson shall be hereinafter referred to as defendant and his former wife and co-defendant by her name.

OPINION.

Issue: Can a hospital recover from the noncustodial father the reasonable value of its services for an elective abortion performed on his minor daughter, which procedure was neither requested nor authorized by him?

The natural duty of parents to provide their children with suitable shelter, food and clothing until they are able to support themselves has long been an accepted principle in common law as well as contained in the statutes of Ohio. 41 Ohio Jurisprudence 2d 339, Parent and Child, Section 29.

R. C. 3103.03 provides that a husband shall support his wife and minor children out of his property or by his labor. Another Ohio statute, R. C. 2111.08, states that each parent is charged "with the care, nurture, welfare, and education" of his children.

In a divorce, dissolution of marriage, alimony or child support proceeding, R. C. 3109.05 is applicable, and either or both parents may be ordered to support their children.

Therefore, generally, a father charged with the duty of support is obliged to provide shelter, food, clothing, medicines and medical attention. 41 Ohio Jurisprudence 2d 341-342, Parent and Child, Section 30. If the father neglects to support his minor children, then R. C. 3103.03 provides that any person may supply the minor child with the necessaries and recover the reasonable value thereof from the father. A father's obligation to a third person who supplies necessaries for his minor children extends only to those "necessaries."

Parents are legally responsible for medical services necessarily furnished to their minor children. Aulen v. Cantor (1912), 30 O.D. 665; Marmorstein v. Schuck (1928), 29 Ohio App. 229, 163 N.E. 508.

A "necessary" is the article or service which is indispensable or useful to the sustenance of human life. Black's Law Dictionary (4 Ed.).

These obligations can extend to divorced husbands. Pretzinger v. Pretzinger (1887), 45 Ohio St. 452, 15 N.E. 471.

The above statements and principles are well-accepted in Ohio, but there is no statement of law or reported court decision dealing with a parent's responsibility for an abortion performed on his minor child.

The noncustodial parent is obligated to pay for services rendered in an emergency treatment of his child. Downing v. Goldberg (1932), 29 N.P. (N.S.) 162. In a nonemergency situation the custodial parent is not clothed with authority to obligate the supporting noncustodial parent until that parent neglected or refused to make suitable provisions. Hackenberg v. Hackenberg (1911), 17 C.C. (N.S.) 456, affirmed without opinion (1913), 88 Ohio St. 567, 106 N.E. 1060.

There is no evidence that defendant neglected or refused to provide medical services for his minor child, Beverly Anderson. The unrefuted facts are that the defendant supported his minor child and provided for her medical care.

The noncustodial parent is liable only for expenses incurred which are the natural incidents of the custody, such as board and lodging. Hackenberg v. Hackenberg, supra. An elective abortion is not a natural incident of the minor child's custody.

There was no contract or agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant; plaintiff does not claim that there was one, but seeks to imply a contract and recover the reasonable value of its services. The facts do not support such a contention. Plaintiff failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant neglected or refused to provide the necessaries for his minor daughter.

Further, there was little evidence as to the reasonable...