13 year old girl denied abortion (1 Viewer)

[Monkey Butler]

source

A pregnant 13-year-old has been blocked from having an abortion after state authorities in Florida won an emergency injunction, arguing that she was too immature to make such a decision.

The girl, identified only as LG, had been due to have her 13-week pregnancy terminated last Tuesday, and a social worker had been lined up to give her a lift to the clinic. However, she was thwarted in court.

"Why can't I make my own decision? It's my business," she told Judge Ronald Alvarez when he granted a temporary injunction while LG undergoes psychological evaluation.

"It would make no sense to have the baby," said LG, who became pregnant after running away from her care home in January. "I'm 13, I'm in a shelter and I can't get a job."

At the heart of her case is a wrangle over whether the wishes of the state, LG's legal guardian since her removal from abusive parents, can prevail over her constitutional right to choose.

The state's social services wing points to a Florida statute which states: "In no case shall the department consent to sterilisation, abortion or termination of life support."

"We have to follow the law," said Marilyn Munoz, a social services spokeswoman.

John Stargel, a Republican state legislator, said: "The courts are the only arena to decide if a 13-year-old is mature enough to make that decision."

Yet the girl has appealed against the injunction, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union. Howard Simon, its executive director in Florida, said that forcing a 13-year-old to continue an unwanted pregnancy was illegal, unconstitutional and cruel.

Wow, that sucks.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

Thats bullshit. She should be allowed to have an abortion. But then she should be locked up so she can't continue to have unprotected sex when she is only 13.

 

[MuffinMan]

13!! wtf!! that means she lost her virginity at late 12 early 13!!
who wants to sex a 13 yr old anyways??

 

[sped_kid01]

I dont think @ 13 she is mature enough to be having sex..

However, seems she IS...then she should have the right to abortion... No child deserves to lead a life like that, especially since she is already living in a shelter without a job.

 

[ur_inner_child]

there are two issues here.

how mature this girl is in general to get knocked up

and whether she's mature enough to be a mother considering her situations.

this is way too delicate i think i'll just turn and walk away right now. If I was the mother of this girl, I'd be thinking there's STILL a lot for my daughter to learn. Too much to learn, and a baby would just get in the way of her proper upbringing...

Sorry I've felt very motherly recently...

 

[Benny_]

I couldn't believe it when I saw this earlier. Too young to make such a decision, what garbage.

 

[my sharona]

I'm really quite disturbed. Either way, she will be emotionally scarred.

 

[Monkey Butler]

The most fucked up thing (well, a homeless, pregnant 13 year old is pretty fucked up too) is that there's absolutely nothing that either the girl or social services can do. The girl is at the mercy of the courts, and social services HAS to follow the law. The judge that presided over the hearing must have known this, so how could he possibly have allowed the injunction?

 

[MuffinMan]

well serves her right for having sex at 13

 

[iamsickofyear12]

13!! wtf!! that means she lost her virginity at late 12 early 13!!
who wants to sex a 13 yr old anyways??

The youngest person to give birth was only 6 years old. Someone had to have sex with her.

 

[glycerine]

well serves her right for having sex at 13

its not always as black and white as that - how do you know she wasn't raped?? on top of that if shes been systematically abused her whole life its likely she sees herself as a sexual object anyway. i'd like to see you cope any different in her situation.

 

[soha]

such is life

 

[breaking]

who wants to sex a 13 yr old anyways??

a lot of people, sadly.

 

[MasterP]

Ugh. That sucks, that sucks up fetus with a vacuum cleaner.

 

[townie]

i guarantee if she committed a crime, Florida wouldnt be saying "oh, she was to immature to decide to commit a crime" (yes i am aware it is a very tenuous analogy)

let her have the abortion, state has no right to intervene.

 

[miss_b]

The youngest person to give birth was only 6 years old. Someone had to have sex with her.

 

[jennylim]

6??? so she must've had her period too, and had sex...and had hips big enough and...

ugh ok i don't even want to think about this.

 

[miss_b]

http://www.sexualrecords.com/WSRprev.html

Seems like a 5 year old gave birth to a baby that lived for 40 years...

 

[Phanatical]

The state has EVERY right to intervene, especially if it means the protection of a human life. There are of course quality of life issues, but if she wasn't raped then the child deserves a chance to live, and a set of infertile parents deserve a chance to give this child a good life. If she WAS raped, then I would (guardedly) support an abortion ASAP on the basis that the child would not have a good quality of life knowing he or she were the progeny of a rapist.

 

[iambored]

The state has EVERY right to intervene, especially if it means the protection of a human life.

on that note then wouldn't the state have the right to intervene on any person's abortion? what makes the 13 year old's abortion able to be intervened, but not others?