British Court Orders Girl, 13, To Have Abortion


A British high court has ordered a 13 year old girl to have an abortion, HuffPost UK revealed.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was reportedly impregnated by a 14 year old-boy and was initially opposed to having an abortion. She reportedly has an IQ of just 54, as well as the comprehension skills of a 7 year old, and was described as “very damaged.” Over the course of the hearing, she was reportedly “wavering” before eventually conceding that she wanted the abortion, MSN UK reports. Sir James Munby, Britain’s most senior family judge, ruled that an abortion was in the girl’s best interest, and the procedure was carried out.

Munby said that if the girl were to not have the abortion, there was very little chance she would be able to keep the child, pointing out that the girl, who had “many difficulties in her life” lacked the “capacity to decide for herself.”

An abortion is in the girl’s “best interest,” Sir James Munby ruled

The court was told that at the time of the girl’s mental health evaluation that she had set her mind against the abortion. An expert who testified in front of the court said that an abortion could “cause considerable harm to this young girl, who would see it as an assault.” The girl’s psychiatrist admitted that while she understood the implications of an abortion, she did not have a full grasp of what pregnancy would entail.

Highlighting the girl’s changing attitude towards the abortion, Munby said that it was “appropriate” for him to “supply the necessary consent” for the abortion to proceed. Since Munby was announcing the decision several weeks after it was made, he was able to confirm that the abortion had indeed taken place.

Surprisingly, it isn’t the first time the British high court has been in the news recently for abortion related issues. In a strikingly similar case, Judge Justice Mostyn was asked to decide last month if a different 13 year old girl was capable of making her own decision about whether or not to have an abortion.

After hearing from the girl’s psychiatrist, Mostyn ruled that she was indeed capable of deciding for herself. The ruling also isn’t the only high profile abortion headline to recently come to light. As The Inquisitr previously reported, an abortion activist made headlines last month when she filmed her own abortion and posted the video on YouTube.

[Images via Bing]

Share this article: British Court Orders Girl, 13, To Have Abortion
More from Inquisitr