12-Year-Old Girl To Wait For a Month To Get Abortion Despite Mum’s Support

A 12-year-old girl was forced to wait for a month before she could undergo an abortion, and was told she still needed her estranged father to agree to it, despite her mum’s support.

The girl (named Q in medical documents to protect her identity) and her mother requested an abortion to be done in a public hospital.

However, under the current system, the girl was forced to take her case to the Queensland Supreme Court to get authorisation for the abortion to go ahead, forcing the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to get involved.

The case has highlighted the current Queensland health system, with the delay risking both the girl’s mental trauma and the procedure due to the extended gestation period.

It may be “uncommon” in Queensland for a 12-year-old girl to be pregnant, a Medical Journal of Australia report found the cases were “not rare”. It showed there were 16 girls aged 13 years or less who presented at a Queensland medical practice with an unplanned pregnancy in the 12 months to June 2016. Fifteen of those girls were cared for in the private sector.

A social worker, who was known to Q’s family, agreed to the girl’s decision while two obstetricians found the girl to be Gillick competent or able to consent to the legal procedure.

“Although Q had clearly stated that she did not want her estranged father informed of her situation, the court required him to be contacted and his approval for the termination to be sought. Q was also required to be assessed by a psychiatrist,” the report by Heather Douglas and Caroline M de Costa found.

In the report, they found Q’s case has uncertain implications for medical practitioners and patients. “While there are clear Queensland Department of Health guidelines setting out procedures or hospital decision making in cases like that of Q, the decision of the health service to seek direction from the court underlines the fear and uncertainty on the part of doctors and administrators regarding the legality of abortion in Queensland,” the report found.

Abortion laws in Australia vary in each State and Territory, with early-term surgical abortions generally available around Australia for those women who seek them.

Source: Au.news.yahoo.com