By ,
Published January 13, 2015
By Monday, we should have a court decision in the case of L.G., the 13-year-old Florida girl who is pregnant and wants an abortion.
As we reported on “DaySide,” this girl is almost 14 weeks along. She got pregnant while living in a group home. She's clearly got some problems, because she ran away from the home multiple times — but Florida's Department of Children and Families (search) (which has custody of her) never even reported this to authorities so police could search for her.
Florida law says that DCF cannot allow anyone in its care to get an abortion. But L.G.'s lawyer says a state Supreme Court decision on privacy rights trumps the DCF law. Who's right here?
Here are some of your e-mails:
I have a 13-year-old daughter and I think that if this girl feels she is old enough to have sex, she is old enough to have a baby. If this was my daughter, she would have the baby and of course I would have to help raise it, but she would also still go to school, find a job, and help raise the child.
—Brian, Minnesota
I think the idea that Florida is punishing this girl with having a baby is a weird characterization. I don't know where it says in the Constitution that Florida has to consent to abortion. But there is something really wrong with Florida's DCF if they can't keep a 13-year-old safe.
—D. Munn, Macon, Georgia
This poor girl has already been through too much in her short life. She is a ward of the state and she's pregnant with a child she doesn't want. If she lived with a parent or family member, she would probably have already had the abortion and we wouldn't be speculating whether or not she has the right. Unfortunately, she does not live with a parent or family member, but rather in a group home under the state's purview. She is an unwanted child herself. Is it really up to the state to force her to continue her pregnancy against her will and produce another unwanted child that could very well end up in the state's custody? Aren't there already enough unwanted children? It's her body, it's her future, and it’s her choice. The state needs to let the girl do what is, in my opinion, the right thing. I say this as someone who lives in a lower middle class area where we see situations like this every day.
—Anonymous
This story is tragic in so many ways — we'll stay on top of it.
Have a good weekend,
Linda
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