Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Judge upset at DCF over pregnant girl's care

The 13-year-old girl, a chronic runaway, has been in foster care since she was taken from her parents four years ago.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 29, 2005

WEST PALM BEACH - A judge who blocked a scheduled abortion for a 13-year-old chronic runaway is outraged that the state hasn't done more to protect her during at least four years in foster care.

"To say I am angry is an understatement," Juvenile Judge Ronald Alvarez said Thursday after learning the state Department of Children and Families had not notified the court that the girl had disappeared from a shelter so police could look for her.

The American Civil Liberties Union is appealing an order DCF obtained from Alvarez to keep the girl from having an abortion scheduled for Tuesday.

The 4th District Court of Appeal gave the state five days Thursday to file papers to support the order, and the ACLU has three days to respond.

Meanwhile, Alvarez heard testimony on whether an abortion might physically or emotionally harm the girl in case the appeals court sends the issue back to him, the Palm Beach Post reported.

The judge said the state should have done more to help the girl before she became pregnant.

"Where are our priorities in life?" he asked.

The girl, identified in court papers as L.G., has been in foster care since she was taken from her parents for abuse or neglect, the newspaper reported. DCF attorney Jeffrey Gillen told the judge the state has been unable to find adoptive parents for her.

She has run away from state-assigned homes at least five times and was gone for a month when she became pregnant more than 14 weeks ago, putting her in her second trimester.

Asked by the judge to evaluate her, psychologist Lynn Hargrove testified the girl does not have any mental health problems but may have a mild mood disorder that would not cloud her thinking.

"She was frustrated at the delay," Hargrove said.

The state's only witness, child psychologist Francis Crosby, testified about a disorder called postabortion syndrome, which he acknowledged is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association or the American Medical Association.

Research that he termed "questionable" indicates women with a history of psychiatric problems could be at higher risk for emotional harm after an abortion.

Near the end of the hearing, Alvarez talked with the girl and her court-appointed guardian. The girl told the judge she does not want a baby. At 13, she said, she can't get a job to support it.

Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Gov. Jeb Bush, said it is "a tragic and sad case." But he said DCF is acting in the girl's best interests.

State law allows girls to have abortions without notifying anyone. The girl talked with her caseworker, who works for a private agency under contract to the state, about seeking an abortion after learning she was pregnant two weeks ago.

DCF has cited a state law prohibiting the department from consenting to an abortion for a minor in state care. The ACLU claims she has a constitutional right to decide to terminate her pregnancy.

[Last modified April 29, 2005, 19:01:28]