13-Year-Old Flprida Foster Child Has Abortion After Gov. Bush Says State Will File No Further Appeals To Prevent Procedure

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 05 May 2005 - 8:00 PDT


Palm Beach County, Flaorida, Juvenile Court Judge Ronald Alvarez on Tuesday at an 11 a.m. hearing lifted a 4th District Court of Appeal stay requested by the... Florida Department of Children & Families to block a 13-year-old Florida foster child from undergoing an abortion, the Miami Herald reports. "As the days go by, the circumstances become more compelling and the further delay further puts this child's life at risk," Alvarez said in court (Marbin Miller et al., Miami Herald, 5/4). Following the ruling, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said the state would no longer fight the judge's order to allow the girl to undergo an abortion, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Cote, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5/4). "There will be no further appeals, and we will respectfully comply with the court's decision," DCF spokesperson Marilyn Munoz said in a statement (Loney, Reuters, 5/3). The girl, who is known as L.G. in court documents, terminated her pregnancy on Tuesday, according to the Herald.

Background
The court implemented the stay on Monday evening, when DCF appealed a decision by Alvarez to allow the girl's lawyers to transport her to a clinic to receive an abortion, the Herald reports (Miami Herald, 5/4). The girl, who has been in foster care for about four years, learned of her pregnancy about two weeks ago. After undergoing counseling, she told her caseworker that she wanted to have an abortion, which the caseworker had scheduled for April 26. However, DCF filed an emergency motion to halt the procedure, arguing that L.G. was too immature to make an informed decision and that the agency had the authority to prevent the abortion from taking place. However, the girl's attorneys argued that the state's privacy law gives minors the right to decide if they want an abortion. Alvarez last week granted DCF's motion, ruling that the state should evaluate the medical and emotional risks associated with L.G. having an abortion or carrying the pregnancy to term. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County on behalf of L.G. then filed an emergency appeal of Alvarez's decision in Florida's 4th District Court of Appeal, saying that neither DCF nor the court had a right to intervene in the case. The groups also asked the court to act quickly on the issue because abortion procedures become more risky the later in pregnancy they are performed, and L.G. already was in her second trimester of pregnancy, according to her attorneys. On Thursday, the 4th District Court of Appeal granted the organizations' request to expedite the appeals process (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 5/3).

Bush Comments
Bush said that DCF "did the right thing to make the initial appeal to make sure that this was reviewed carefully," adding, "We're talking about the loss of a life." He said, "Look, if the judge has ruled, it's time to move on. It's a tragedy that a 13-year-old child would be in a vulnerable position where she could be made pregnant, and it's a tragedy her baby will be lost. There's no good news in this at all" (Miami Herald, 5/4). The reversal was "a striking change" for Bush, who recently has intervened in several cases to "fight for what he calls the sanctity of life," the New York Times reports. Although Bush's critics said he backed down to avoid "another high-profile showdown with the judiciary," Lucy Hadi -- who Bush appointed to direct the state's child welfare agency -- said the state decided that blocking L.G.'s abortion was not in her best interest, according to the Times. "We did not believe it was in her best interest to continue to pursue the process because her health is of priority importance to us," Hadi said (Goodnough, New York Times, 5/4).

L.G.'s Abortion
L.G.'s attorneys on Tuesday declined to talk about the girl's abortion procedure, saying L.G. wished to "safeguard her privacy," according to the Herald. ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon said, "I am of the understanding that this case is over, both legally and medically." Maxine Williams, L.G.'s attorney, said, "The court ruled, and the governor gave up. ... I'm just glad the whole thing is over" (Miami Herald, 5/4). Although it is unclear who would pay for the abortion, Munoz said DCF will not cover the cost of the procedure, according to the Times. "The department, according to Florida statute, cannot consent to an abortion," she said, adding, "[S]o it might run into a problem if it paid for one." Williams said she believed the abortion would be provided at no cost (New York Times, 5/4).

Attorney Comments
Williams said L.G.'s legal team "fought vigorously to end the case quickly" because it was concerned that DCF would "seek to prolong the proceedings" until it would be unsafe for L.G. to undergo an abortion, according to the Herald. "We were determined not to let that happen," she said (Miami Herald, 5/4). Simon "criticized state officials for disregarding the girl's constitutional rights," according to the AP/Gainesville Sun. "Isn't it an indication of a strange state of affairs in Florida that we should be grateful that the governor has agreed to obey the law?" he said, adding, "This was also the law a week ago and this flurry of litigation could have been avoided if the governor could have gotten better legal advice last week that this minor female has a right to terminate her unwanted pregnancy. The governor has a duty to uphold the constitution, not simply the provisions he agrees with" (Barton, AP/Gainesville Sun, 5/3).

Advocates' Reaction
"This is a clear example of a system that should be protecting this young girl and her unborn child, yet has failed miserably," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said, adding, "This is an absurd and very harmful abuse by the ACLU and Judge Alvarez to advance their own political agendas regardless of who will get hurt in the process" (FRC release, 5/3). However, abortion-rights advocates criticized state officials for becoming involved in the case, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Some critics said the governor's administration "trampled on the girl's constitutional rights to further a conservative political agenda" by asking the judge to intervene in the case, the Sun-Sentinel reports (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5/4).

Similar Cases
Some Florida juvenile court judges said state officials "have turned a blind eye" for years on foster children who have received abortions, according to the Herald. "I have done this for 10 years," Cindy Lederman, Miami's chief juvenile judge, said, adding, "If a child wishes to have an abortion, she gets an abortion." Most foster children never appear before a judge prior to terminating a pregnancy, according to Nancy Barshter, a former assistant attorney general in the state. "The key is that it was done very low-key," she said, adding, "It wasn't brought before the court and it wasn't discussed among the lawyers unless something else was going on, such as the child had been raped or was truly emotionally disturbed." Anita Bock, former director of the Miami DCF office and currently a consultant in California, said, "For all the years I worked at DCF as the district administrator in Miami-Dade, we allowed these decisions to be made by adults acting in the best interest" of the child, adding, "The governor should stay out of an issue that has for years been handled quietly and with dignity at the local level, in a manner consistent with what is truly in the best interest of the children DCF so often fails to protect and care for as it should." Bush called the advocates' assertions "troubling," saying, "If that's the case (and) it happens all the time, I'm not aware of that." He added, "It's very troubling that children are put in a position, irrespective of whether they're in the custody of the state, where they feel compelled to have an abortion. It's a sad fact, and there's an added responsibility when the state has some degree of responsibility over the well-being of that child" (Miami Herald, 5/4)

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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