NATION : House Passes Bill to Free Mother Jailed 2 Years for Hiding Daughter

WASHINGTON —  The House today overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at freeing a woman jailed nearly two years by a judge for refusing to reveal her daughter’s whereabouts to her former husband, whom she accuses of sexually abusing the child.

The bill would require prosecutors in the District of Columbia to release or to file criminal contempt charges--guaranteeing a trial and the possibility of bail--against anyone who had been held more than 12 months for civil contempt of court. The measure, which passed by a 376-34 margin, is designed to apply retroactively to the case of Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, a local plastic surgeon.

She was jailed for civil contempt in August, 1987, after refusing to produce her daughter, Hilary, for court-ordered visits with Dr. Eric Foretich, her former husband and the girl’s father. Morgan hid Hilary after alleging that Foretich had sexually abused the 6-year-old girl. Foretich, an oral surgeon, has denied those charges.

Congress has review power over all District of Columbia laws but rarely uses its right to intervene in the city’s court system.