http://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-teen-wins-abortion-battle-150554993--abc-news-topstories.html


A pregnant teen who sued her parents, claiming they were coercing her to have an abortion, will be able to give birth to her baby.

Attorneys representing the 16-year-old girl were granted a long-term injunction against the girl's parents in Texas family court on Monday, according to court documents.

The teen is 10 weeks pregnant and the injunction will last for the duration of her pregnancy.

As part of the order, the girl will be able to use her car to go to school, work and medical appointments. Her parents had taken away the use of the car as part of their effort to force an abortion, court papers stated.

The teen's parents will be liable for half of the hospital bill when she gives birth, unless she is married to the baby's 16-year-old father.

"We are extremely happy with the judge's decision today and we are very proud of our teenage client for being strong enough to stand against her parents to save her unborn child's life," Greg Terra, president of the Texas Center for Defense of Life, said in a blog post on the group's website.

Attorneys filed a lawsuit on the teen's behalf earlier this month arguing that her parents "are violating her federal constitutional rights to carry her child to term by coercing her to have an abortion with both verbal and physical threats and harassment."

The teen, identified in the lawsuit only as R.E.K. since she is a minor, was "beside herself" when she called the center for help, her lawyer Stephen Casey told ABCNews.com last week. The group claims it has previously represented teens in similar situations and won their cases.

"These girls are in a bind, particularly in a situation where their parents are forcing them to do something they don't want to do," Casey said. "Regardless of the [situation], that's her parents and she should expect support from them in this situation, not resentment and anger."

When the pregnancy was confirmed, the teenager's father allegedly "became extremely angry, was insistent that R.E.K. was not having the baby, and that the decision was not up to her, according to the lawsuit. He stated he was going to take her to have an abortion and that the decision was his, end of story."

The teen claimed in the lawsuit that her parents had taken away her phone, pulled her out of school, forced her to get two jobs and took away her car in an effort to "make her miserable so that she would give in to the coercion and have the abortion."'



....Im torn on this one, IM anti abortion so thats not what bothers me


what bothers me is that the courts can say its not the parents right to make medical decisions for their child.....when it comes to abortion

but its their MANDATE if it comes down to them getting sick (many have been prosecuted for opting out of medical intervention with a sick child,,,)


personally, I think ANY medical care should be the perogative and authority of the parent (because it will be their financial responsibility legally),,,,,,neither mandated or restricted,, unless its asthetic in nature,, in which case I dont think parents should be able to 'force' children into it,,,,


I think privilege and right comes with responsibility for our choices

if we cant handle the responsibility , and the law says minors cant even enter into contracts,, we shouldnt have the 'right' or privilege ,,,,,

and what are the legal implications of caring for the newborn, as you cant legally force child support on any one for children that arent theirs?

can the parents take the teen and the child to a home? or are they forced to continue caring for their girl and , by extension, any and all children she decides to have?

Couple points.

The sperm donor should be responsible for all the bills incurred by the sperm receiver. Not just half. And, his parents should be paying child support until he is able to or at a legal age.

The parents should have available to them, a way to legally disown the daughter. If they wished to do so.

If, the daughter cannot care for the child on her own, without State aid, the child should be taken away, put up for adoption and the girl get forced sterilization.

Tough? Yeah. Life's tough.

Hmmm. Society could always approach it like they did in ZPG. Baby lives, mother dies. That's how society dealt with overpopulation in this 1971 film.

I can't agree that a judge can force what a person can do with their property, meaning the car & phone. I believe the parents should have the right to emanpcipate a child. Cut their legal responsibilitys & let her do as she will. "FORCING" her to do something she doesn't want to do; OK..NO FORCE. Seems to me; some people think they have more rights than others. Theu are just EQUAL.
Sterilization can NOT be forced. Life style should NOT be forced. EMANCIPATE & give her the "FREEDOM", she apparently seeks.

LIFE is NOT TOUGH; IT IS LIFE.

pfffft......

never mind......



^^^ I agree with OldSage !

Wow that is quite a situation.

Where are all the anti-abortion rights people when a girl who elects to have the child needs support?

Instead of picketing abortion clinics with pictures of dead babies, they should be working on a fund to help support the girls and their babies.

Now the parents, against their will, will probably have to raise this child.

I also don't think the parents should have the right to force any child to have a abortion. They also can't interfere with a girl to prevent her from having one.

16 may not be a "legal" age, but it is a child bearing age, that makes the girl an adult, even if she is not emotionally mature.

The parents will no doubt become attached to the baby. It is an emotional attachment that will be difficult for them to resist.

We love our children and they make our lives miserable.

I agree with this statement. The parents should let her have the child and support her financially and otherwise because she is a minor. When she becomes an Adult, then she is responsible for herself.

Should the parents of the "minor" sperm donor pay child support?

That is a good question. I think that would be a fair thing to ask them to do.

Sorry, have to STRONGLY DISAGREE,regardless of age, pregnancy does NOT make an adult. We reduce many more serious crimes, due to underage. If killing does not make an adult, how can this.

I agree about a fund being set up to help young underage mothers; might work better than free birth control.

Also, if the judge is going to rule on access to other's property; than YES he should issue a court order for thes "sperm donor" to work & pay support.

Good for the goose, good for the gander.

I think the judge overstepped his authority and made law, which will result in more law cases on our already burdened system. I also think the sperm donor (or his parents) need to pay child support to help, a woman cannot make a baby by herself.

The parents should put the daughter in a home for unwed mothers. Life is still tough. But that would be punishing her, if they loved her, they'll love the baby too.

So then what does make a person an "adult?" A Law? The society? In some societies, girls marry and have children at 14.

If you read my post I said:

"16 may not be a "legal" age, but it is a child bearing age, that makes the girl an adult, even if she is not emotionally mature."



Better yet, give the child to the sperm donor and his parents six months out of the year to take care of.

I think those homes for unwed mothers, if you can find one, cost money. Sometimes parents just can't afford that.

Again, this is where these anti-abortion advocates should be made to be accountable for all of these children they are wanting to bring into this world.

Jeannie, my thoughts; there are to many "BABIES" having "BABIES" & that is how I view this mess. I can not agree that just because you can reproduce makes you an adult. This is a sorry situation & while I understand the ruling, on the "forced" abortion. I can not agree with the ruling on the property. Unless the girl earned/paid for the items, they are the parents to be disposed as they chose. Basic room & board, unless she is emancipated ARE required by law.

A agree, 16 is too young to start having babies.

But by "adult" I mean biologically. The meaning of that word would depend on what you feel an "adult" is. In animals, biologically, if it can reproduce... it is an adult. Humans are animals. (not plants.) If they can reproduce, then biologically they are adults.

In this case shouldn’t the sperm donor’s parents be allowed to legally disown their son as well? Otherwise it sounds as if the son's parents would be held fully culpable for their son's decisions and the daughter’s parents held to none.


Is forced sterilization better than forced abortion? Or did you agree that the parents should have been able to force her to have the abortion?

I dont want children killed, but I dont think that should obligate me to care for those whose parents would rather klll them than raise them (before OR after birth),, it is still a parents responsibility

problem lies in the fact that people can become parents before they are actually 'adults',, they can conceive children and abort children before the law recognizes them as able to enter into a legal contract,,,,thats confusing and inconsistent actually,,,

There are foster and adoption programs as well as public aide to help those who have children before they are ready, the problem is with 'children' they cant be forced to enter into them and by extension can therefore 'force' their own parents to be responsible for another life that they may or may not be interested in starting over with,,,,,

its not just a decision , its a life,, so when we say we can give onr child the right to dictate the fate of another childs life(in terms of abortions and child birth), how do we mesh that out in the legal system once responsibility for that small child becomes reality,,,and the law no longer places that 'right' on the child parent,,,,but 'forces' it upon the grandparents who have no say,,,,,but all the responsibility

If you are not in favor of getting an abortion, then don't get one. However, you should not try to tell anyone else what they should have to do. If you so badly want them to bring their child into the world that you would force them to do so via laws, then you and the system that does this should be totally and financially responsible for those children.



Yes it is. But because the law allows 'children' (pregnant young girls) to have the power to decide to get an abortion or have a baby, the law essentially recognizes that they are old enough (adults) to make those decisions.



The state will be responsible for the child if all else fails.

If a 14 or 16 year old child has the right to have a baby or abortion without a parents intervention, it is at THAT POINT that the state should declare that child an adult and emancipated from her parents.

If this has never been done in the courts it is because it has never been argued in the courts... and it should be. Then it will become law if argued successfully.

emancipation isnt just about the children wanting to be adults though, or else half our teens would be emancipated

the law considers how capable the kid is to support themself, before they can be emancipated

if they cant support themself (and by extension their child), they wont be emancipated

the trick is finding some way to say 'ok, the kid should decide whehter they want a child or not'

but then to follow through with how to hold them responsible for the care of that child when they are legally children themself

I think the China, one kid rule would be advisable here in the States. And, only if you have the means to provide for the kid. That means without state or federal aid.

Then, perhaps, we wouldn't have so many of these types running the streets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkrs5cFcVN0