Posted on 05/03/2005 7:33:22 AM PDT by areafiftyone
WEST PALM BEACH - A 13-year-old at the center of an abortion fight with the state was given permission Monday to terminate her pregnancy, but it was unclear whether she immediately underwent the procedure.
Attorneys for the girl, known only as L.G. in court papers, said the abortion was scheduled for later Monday. However, the state Department of Children and Families appealed the decision, according to Maxine Williams, one of the teen's attorneys.
"Since this is still in litigation, I can't speak to what's going on in court," DCF spokeswoman Marilyn Munoz said.
Palm Beach Juvenile Judge Ronald Alvarez issued an order last week temporarily stopping the teen, who lives in a state shelter, from having the abortion. DCF argued she was too young and immature to decide for herself and state law prohibited the agency from consenting to an abortion.
Alvarez held up the abortion until a psychological evaluation was completed, but he ruled Monday that the teen would not be physically or emotionally harmed by the abortion.
"Legally speaking, it's not a difficult decision to make," Alvarez was quoted as saying by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "Morally speaking, it's a very difficult decision for this court to make. ... But I'm not here to make the moral decision. I'm here to make the legal decisions."
"He ruled that she is competent, that she has made a decision and that she has a right to act on that decision," said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped represent the girl. The judge also declared "her right to act on that decision is also in her best interest," Simon said.
The teen, who was more than 14 weeks pregnant, has been in DCF care for at least four years.
Her attorneys say Florida law protects a minor's right to choose an abortion.
Florida's high court cited state privacy rights in 1989 when it tossed out a law that would have required parental consent for a minor's abortion.
Quite frankly, many of the folks on this thread who are supportive of the girl's "decision" sound very much like the slavery-apologists in the mid-nineteenth century. Of course, they were "against" slavery, but you couldn't just set free people who had been dependent all of their lives! They wouldn't know how to survive on their own, so it would be too cruel to just free the slaves. Maybe if we worked into it slowly...
Either abortion is right or wrong. Period. Either an innocent child is being killed, or it isn't. Period. The argument that we should be committing immoral acts to avoid temporary hardships or unpleasantness is to be ignorant of the fact that almost all long-term benefits require short-term pain. If doing the right thing was always easy or painless, then no one would ever do wrong. But it isn't, which is why you are judged by doing the right thing even when it is difficult.
In your quest to be "sensitive" to the issues, some of you are just being apologists for evil...
Well, how did she get pregnant? Was she raped or what? I can't imagine a 13 year old child even thinking of having sex.
First is tubal pregnancy. I am not aware of any child that has survived past the first trimester. If you are, I would be very interested to see that information and reconsider my opinion on the matter. It is my understanding that failure to abort results in a rupturing of the tube, the death of the child, and poses a grave health risk to the mother (sepsis, among other things).
Second is fetal rejection syndrome. While very rare, there are cases where the body simply rejects the baby, the baby fails to produce sufficient interceptors to prevent the deterioration of the sac. The mother's body is thrown into a state of chaos; half of it trying to build the baby, and half trying to attack the baby as if it was some foreign agent. These babies are often miscarried long before viability, but for those who are not, it again poses a very grave risk to the mother (My girlfriend experienced this agony...wanted the child very much but was rapidly declining, despite continual hospitalization and bed rest).
As to victims of rape, someone very dear to me was raped at 17 by a boyfriend. This otherwise loving girl who often boasted that she wanted a dozen kids called the child a parasite and begged for an abortion. Her parents relented. Now, many years later, she deeply regrets not having the child and giving it a chance at life. She experiences anniversary syndrome, with the accompanying depression. She is now staunchly pro-life and is trying to make peace with God and her conscience.
As I indicated in my initial post, I am in a high risk pregnancy at the moment and it could have serious implications on my health. Given my history and health issues, I could rationalize an abortion.
But my eyes have seen the truth, in pictures of the aborted and in the OB's monitor, where the little flickering light is my child's heartbeat. I have two beautiful children, and I know the precious gift I carry within me. I will do what I must to bring this baby into the world, with God's grace.
Yes the good Knee Jery response to a debate.
Well your Hypocrisy is intact.
GROW UP!
GROW UP! LIFE IS ABOUT MAKING DECSIONS, SOMETIMES DIFFICULT ONES. I WAS RIGHT IN THAT YOU CANNOT HAVE A DISCUSSI0N ABOUT ABOUT ABORTION WITHOUT THE EMOTION.
Your emotional outbursts do nothing to strengthen your argument. Give it a rest.
All abortions scar the to-be mother for life. Also, there is growing evidence that abortion creates physical harm to the mother-to-be in the future.
Are you sure that abortion is a good idea? Even in this case?
Sorry (eeeeeeee!),
I sometimes play with the fonts because I get tired of all the black letters. I realize that my trials run into errors, because the fonts aren't clear or dark enough. But I appreciate the feedback. Not trying to annoy anyone, so again, my apologies.
:)
And sometimes, people do accept placement of a child born drug addicted with emotional/developmental programs. And work to learn and help the child. And then a judge returns the child to a bio parent, who doesn't intend to do a thing to continue the progress.
"Would it be acceptable if it was your 13 year old daughter and you would do anything to keep her life from being ruined and protect her."
Acceptable, yes. Preferred, No.
I think that this 13 year old child will not have her life ruined from pregnancy, but rather will have her life ruined from an abortion.
If I was really trying to protect her, she would have been brought up so that this would not be an issue at the tender age of 13.
She will be scarred for life no matter what happens now, but I do not equate scarred with her life is ruined.
I have known women who had miscarriages or still borns. They were tragically damaged by these events, even though they did not cause them.
Foreign adoptions have much more red tape than domestic adoptions. However, there's a lot of horror stories in domestic adoption of bio parents returning to gain custody of the children.
>Unbelievable. Sick. Horrid. Tragic.
And is this the start of a new trend? I can
hardly bear to think about that.
First of all, is it really necessary to yell, or are you unable to control your emotions?
That said, I agree with you; that life *is* about making decisions. Though, decisions were made so far as they pertained to the 13 year old. Many of the adults around her failed her miserably. A new life has been created through no fault of its own. This life is loved and known by God as equally as any other on this earth. This isn't emotion but fact.
So...why is ending the life of a person inside a mother's womb more important to you than protecting it? Are we as Americans not believers in protecting life?
And I'm sorry. As much as I want my daughters to have a great start in life, I most certainly would not permit and endorse an abortion if my child were raped. So help me God, I am here to parent my children and raise them in the shadow of Christ. The right thing would be to teach my children the *right* thing to do...no matter the persecution. Because in the end, I want them to be able to look our Lord in the eyes knowing they did their best to live as Christ would. Our decisions are for life and not just for next semester.
Good night.
I just saw a quote from this judge on Fox. He spoke about "...the risk of life...er...death...."
Dr. Freud, pick up the white courtesy phone. Dr. Freud....
How is it emotional? Tell me.
How am I a hypocrite?
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