The abortion that could cost a mom her family

When they divorced in 2011, Houston megabanker Manuel John Mehos, 59, had no problem granting Lisa Mehos, 38, sole custody of the couple’s two young children in New York City. But after Mehos, founder, president and CEO of several banks, was charged with battering his ex-wife, he changed his mind and decided he was the better parent. He claimed the black eye, fractured finger and hematoma his ex-wife suffered were not from abuse, but from botox injections. And the charges were ultimately dropped. But, Mehos and his lawyers argued, it was actually Lisa whose behavior made her unfit to care for her children. You see, in addition to a botox procedure, Lisa had an abortion.

Lisa Mehos wasn’t surprised, she told me, when she learned that Manuel’s attorneys had subpoenaed her medical records to use against her in the custody battle. She said her husband was relentless, as was his attorney, Eleanor Alter, who had already put Lisa under ongoing video surveillance. When she learned that Alter sought to use the abortion that she’d had nearly a year after her divorce as evidence that she was unfit for custody, she wasn’t surprised either. Nor was she surprised that Alter referred to the abortion as a “late” abortion, though it was performed within the first trimester. But when the judge — Acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lori Sattler — agreed to allow the abortion into the custody proceedings, Lisa Mehos was “completely shocked,” she said.

Neither Judge Sattler nor Manuel Mehos’ legal team have responded to my requests for comment.

While Lisa’s abortion is relevant, according to Judge Sattler, Manuel’s sexual behavior is apparently not. A forensic psychologist testified that Manuel had confessed to visiting massage parlors, where he paid for sex. Lisa sees a double standard: “The court jumped at the chance to use the stigma of abortion to openly scorn, interrogate, and question my ability to be a worthy parent,” she told me.

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http://www.salon.com/2013/10/18/the_abortion_that_could_cost_a_mom_her_family/