A woman physician who has been jailed for 16 months for refusing to allow her ex-husband to visit their daughter has lost a bid to be released. Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Dixon said Thursday that additional jail time may yet convince Dr. Elizabeth Morgan to change her position. ``This court is convinced that the coercion has only begun,'' Dixon said. ``As each day passes, the waste of Dr. Morgan's personal and professional life becomes more apparent.'' Dixon jailed Morgan on contempt of court charges in August 1987, when she hid her then-5-year-old daughter, Hilary, rather than allow her to go on a court-ordered visit with her father, northern Virginia oral surgeon Eric Foretich. Morgan alleged that Foretich had sexually abused Hilary repeatedly in the past and would do so again. Morgan's attorneys argued that because Morgan firmly believed Foretich would abuse the girl, the ``coercive'' intent of jailing her clearly had failed. Dixon, however, noting that Morgan's plastic surgery practice has been closed, said the personal costs of further incarceration might convince her to allow Foretich visitation rights under one of several compromises issued by his attorney. ``She has the opportunity to break this impasse, but as time passes that opportunity may be lost,'' Dixon said. ``She holds the keys to her freedom.'' Dixon said that at some undetermined future date, he might free Morgan if he concludes that the coercive intent of the contempt jailing has failed. ``That could be in a month, that could be in a year,'' Dixon said. ``But it could be more than that.'' Morgan, dressed in bright orange prison coveralls, sat motionless as Dixon read his ruling. Afterward, she quietly thanked her attorneys before being led off by a U.S. marshal. ``I think what we saw here today is the ugly face of the law,'' said Stephen Sachs, one of Morgan's attorneys. Hilary remains hidden at an undisclosed location. During the two-day hearing that preceded Dixon's ruling, Morgan rebuffed numerous questions about the child, saying only that she was ``healthy, happy and healing.'' Morgan said she decided to hide Hilary only after the girl repeatedly complained of being abused and told therapists she was considering suicide. While she has been in jail, Morgan's home has been sold to pay some of her legal costs. She faces legal debts of about $1.5 million.
