Confused? Don't Be.

A Florida teenager, in the custody of the Florida Dept. of Children & Families, is being denied the right to terminate her pregnancy by that state agency. The transcript of an NPR report on the case is below. This situation is an example of a minor whose parents abandonded her long ago, and for who the state agency in charge of her failed to properly care, and who now may be forced to becoming a parent against her will.

And in Texas? Under current state law, because the managing conservator of a minor in custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, is that agency, once notified, the minor can proceed with her decision to terminate her pregnancy.

However, under the proposed HB 1212 (King R-Weatherford), a girl in a
similar situation who lives in a group home or with a foster family, and who may have no parental figure at all in her life, could easily be forced to become a parent, even at the age of 13. HB 1212, which requires parental consent before a minor can proceed with an abortion, makes absolutely no provision for a girl who has no parents and shifts the decision about whether to continue her pregnancy to a judge. Children in this situation, and there are many in the great state of Texas, are again failed by our state agencies, our laws and the system. And she is the one who will bear another child into a the malfunctioning bureaucracy that did not protect her in the past.

This story illustrates just one of many examples of why HB 1212 punishes abused and abandoned girls who are the least equipped to become parents.

April 29, 2005

MELISSA BLOCK, host: In Florida, a 13-year-old girl who is in state foster care is caught up in a battle over abortion. The girl is known in court papers as L.G. She was set to have an abortion this week when the state Department of Children and Families filed a court order to stop her. The girl is in her second trimester. The ACLU is appealing the order. NPR's Kathy Lohr has the story.

KATHY LOHR reporting:

The girl known as L.G. was taken away from her parents more than four years ago, according to the Legal Aid Society in Palm Beach County, the court-appointed juvenile advocacy group that represents her. The parental rights were terminated two years ago. At a recent doctor's appointment, L.G. found out she was 13 1/2 weeks pregnant. She said she wanted an abortion. The appointment was made. The case manager was going to drive her there when the state child welfare agency, the Department of Children and Families, or DCF, stepped in and argued that the girl was too immature to decide for herself whether she can have an abortion. James Green is with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. He represents the girl.

Mr. JAMES GREEN (American Civil Liberties Union of Florida): Well, this whole thing came about as a result of the Department of Children and Family services' own neglectful placement of this child in a group home that failed to supervise her.

LOHR: Green says it was one of many unsatisfactory placements. He says the state is involved because of a political agenda.

Mr. GREEN: This child has made a clear choice. She's expressed it to the judge that she wants to terminate the pregnancy. There's no indication that she's incompetent. And for the Department of Children and Family services to say, `Under no circumstances is it in any child's best interest to terminate a pregnancy,' that is, we believe, wrong as a matter of constitutional law and also wrong as a matter of good guardianship.

LOHR: Green says Florida law clearly protects teens' rights to make private reproductive health choices. A DCF spokesperson said she could not discuss ongoing legal cases, but that the department will continue to act in the best interest of children under their care as state law requires.

The argument is now in the appeals court. But in a hearing yesterday in Palm Beach County juvenile court, Judge Ronald Alvarez said he was outraged that the Florida DCF did not do more to prevent the 13-year-old from getting pregnant. According to testimony, the girl has run away from state homes several times. She was apparently gone for more than a month earlier this year. That's when she got pregnant. Andrea Moore is with Florida Children's First.

Ms. ANDREA MOORE (Florida Children's First): I think the real tragedy in the story is that the state has failed this young women. And, unfortunately, we have a history in Florida of not meeting our obligations as a state, as a community, to children who have been the victims of abuse and neglect.

LOHR: Earlier this week the judge ordered a psychological evaluation of the girl to show whether she's competent to decide whether to end her pregnancy. The court psychologist said the 13-year-old did not have any mental problems, that the girl was frustrated that she had to take the evaluation and upset about the delay in getting an abortion.

Some in Florida say the state is doing the right thing to get involved and to exercise caution. But Linda Bell with Florida Right to Life says many are still asking the wrong questions.

Ms. LINDA BELL (Florida Right to Life): `Should we abort? Should we not abort? Are you opposed to the abortion? Blah, blah' Nobody is asking the question: Why is a 13-year-old girl in state custody pregnant? Nobody's asking the question to protect this child. It's a rush to abort, get rid of the baby, get rid of the evidence, get rid of it, get rid of it. But what about her? What about the girl? Why is she pregnant. Who impregnated her? Let me tell you something. At the age of 13, you do not have the ability to consent to sex.

LOHR: The 4th District Court of Appeals has said it will make its decision quickly. Kathy Lohr, NPR News

Further news on the Florida version in the Sun-Sentinel