We've previously reported on the case of a 13-year-old girl in Florida who is pregnant and wants an abortion. The Florida Department of Children and Families got a court order preventing her from doing so. The ACLU has filed an emergency appeal on the girl's behalf.
Now a Florida newspaper has obtained a copy of the transcript. Most of the testimony definitely seems to go in the girl's favor. For example:
Girl: "Why can't I make my own decision?"
Judge: "I don't know."
Girl: "You don't know? Aren't you the judge?"
I think that's a question a lot of us have. Further details of the testimony include:
- Florida law does not require parental notification of an abortion (as was stated in our inital story), and this does extend to wards of the state.
- A psychiatrist examined the child, who was found not to suffer from any mental conditions that would affect her ability to make a rational, reasoned decision.
Furthermore, DCF claims to be acting in the girl's best interest. The girl herself said during the hearing that carring the child to term is "pointless," as, "DCF would take the baby anyway." She also added, "I don't think I should have the baby because I'm 13, I'm in a shelter and I can't get a job."
She also questioned the health risks, saying, "Since you guys are supposedly here for the best interest of me, then wouldn't you all look at that fact that it'd be more dangerous for me to have the baby than to have an abortion?" An expert in obstetrics and gynecology testified to this effect, saying that the risk of a death from an abortion at her age is 1 in 34,000, whereas the risk of death from pregnancy is 1 in 10,000.
The judge also blased DCF for not asking the court to take the girl into custody after the last time she ran away:
"To say that I am angry at that would be an understatement. To rush into this court on an emergency basis because this child is pregnant and wants an abortion, I don't know where our priorities in life are. The priority should have been to make certain that an order to take her into custody was issued as soon as possible, and that she was found and taken off of the streets or wherever she was. But nobody cared."
DCF alledges they're doing what's in her best interest, but that hardly seems to be the case. After all, why were they more concerned with her having an abortion than with actually getting her back? Not only that, Florida law is most decidedly not on their side. What a complete waste of time and money.
