Florida girl's abortion allowed

BBC NEWS
Florida girl's abortion allowed
A pregnant 13-year-old girl in Florida has been allowed to have an abortion after a legal battle over the issue.

The girl, known only as LG, was told last week she could not have an abortion, because she lacked the maturity to make such a decision.

But the same judge reversed the order late on Monday, after LG underwent a psychological evaluation.

"Legally speaking, it's not a difficult decision to make. Morally speaking, it's very difficult," the judge said.

"But I'm not here to make the moral decision. I'm here to make the legal decisions," Judge Ronald Alvarez said, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper.


'No good news'

Florida Governor Jeb Bush said the state would not fight the judge's decision, but expressed sadness about the situation.

"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 that her baby will be lost.

"There's no good news in this at all," he said on Tuesday.

Florida's Department of Children and Families had sought to block the abortion, because LG is a ward of the state.

She learned last week she was three months pregnant.

It is not clear if she has had the abortion.

Florida state law specifically does not require a minor to seek parental consent before an abortion.

LG's lawyers argued that meant the state - as her legal guardian - could not block it.

Abortion is a deeply divisive issue in the US.