UK Judge Orders 13-Year-Old Girl to Have Abortion Against Her Wish
Britain's senior-most family judge has ordered a 13-year-old girl, described as "very damaged" and having the comprehension skills of a seven-year-old, to have an abortion against her wish, saying it is in her best interests.
"She was described by the psychiatrist as being 'a very damaged and impaired young girl,' largely out of control a good part of the time," Sir James Munby, President of the High Court's Family Division, said, of the girl who was impregnated by a 14-year-old boy and initially wanted to keep her baby, according to Huffington Post U.K.
"Leaving to one side her own wishes and feelings, the preponderance of all the evidence is clear that it would be in her best interests to have a termination," the judge added at a public hearing in London.
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The case was brought to the High Court by Social Services as she reached her 14th week. Abortion has been carried out.
Even if the teen was allowed to complete the term, she couldn't have been allowed to keep the child, the judge said, citing a clinical psychologist who concluded that she was not in a position to take a decision for herself as she had "many difficulties in her life."
She had the vocabulary of a six-year-old child, the judge said.
However, the girl was against abortion, at least initially.
An expert was quoted as saying that abortion was not the best option for her.
"If the pregnancy were terminated I believe that this would cause considerable harm to this young girl, who would see it as an assault," the expert, who was not identified, was quoted as saying. "Continuing the pregnancy...may have a less detrimental effect on her given her current circumstances," the expert said.
But the judge said the girl's desire to keep her baby wavered during the hearing. "It was clearly appropriate for me to supply the necessary consent to enable the termination to proceed."
A blogger, at the Archbishop Cranmer blog, asks, "Do we now live in a country where one's IQ determines whether 'wishes and feelings' ought to be taken into account?"
The blogger adds: "We're not talking here about whether she would like her bedroom painted orange or pink; we're talking about a baby – a new human life. Surely if a pregnant girl lacks the capacity to decide matters for herself, the unborn baby has the right to an advocate?"
