Fla. won't appeal abortion for 13-year-old

Fla. won't appeal abortion for 13-year-old
Date: Tuesday, May 03, 2005
By: JILL BARTON, Associated Press Writer, APonline

A judge ruled that a 13-year-old girl at the center of an abortion fight with the state may terminate her pregnancy, and Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that the state will not appeal further.

Juvenile Judge Ronald Alvarez ruled Monday that the teen, who has been in state custody for four years, would not be physically or emotionally harmed by the procedure. Last week, Alvarez blocked the girl's abortion until a psychological evaluation was completed.

"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 American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the girl

I will piss some one off on this one, but hay nothing new there.
About time they stop treating 13 year olds like kids. I love all the people talking about how kids are growing up to fast and they should be children longer. Funny when in history was a 13 YO a child? 19XX is about it. Even that can be in question. My Mother 52 at 13 took care of her 3 younger syblings (at the time 10, 3 and 1) because my grandmather was lock up because of a nervuse brake down and my grandfather was over sea (Airforce) they had no family in the area. Every one know it was just my mother taking car of the kids.

A thirteen year old needs permission not to be a parent but doesn't need permission to be a parent. If this kid has a kid, she can make decisions for the kid's body, but will need permission to make decisions for her own body. Does this make sense?

The law in Florida states that a woman can make the choice for herself. Statistically, abortion is a safer option for a 13 year old than carrying the child to term.

The young woman has been living on her own for quite some time now, because she ran away from one of many foster homes (her parents were abusive and surrendered custody of her) and the DCF lost track of her and really did not expend much effort to find her.

Bottom line - NOBODY gave a rats ass about her until she made a personal medical decision to have an abortion. As long as she was out on the street with no job and nothing to eat, hey, she was just another pain in the ass homeless person. But the minute she makes a decision about her own body and about her ability at 13 years old to assume responsibility for an enfant, well DAMN, now she's a child.

My opinion is that she proved herself more responsible than the DCF or the asshat politicians and bureaucrats have proven themselves. I would respect her decision one way or the other and sincerely hope that the right to lifers do not make her life a living hell because of the choice she did make.

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Exactly, as crappy as a situation it is.

Would the state prefer to be taking care of a 13-year-old AND a newborn baby?

How about investigating this girl's guardians as to exactly how this girl got pregnant?

It's a sad case, for sure, but I agree with you Rose. Funny how people only show 'care' when she turns up pregnant and decides to make a mature decision about the situation.