Proof teenagers can sometimes think more clearly than any adult (of note):

Meanwhile, Judge Alvarez directed a court psychologist to examine L.G. The psychologist's findings: that although the girl appeared "to have a mild mood disorder," her psychological state did not "interfere with rational decision making." The judge also held a hearing on Thursday in which both sides offered witnesses. An expert presented by L.G.'s lawyers testified that she faced a higher risk of death from carrying the baby to term than from aborting it, while a DCF witness described the potential for "post-abortion syndrome" though he acknowledged that the supposed condition isn't formally recognized by either the American Medical Association or American Psychiatric Association. In that same hearing, Alvarez asked L.G. about her decision-making skills. "That is another reason I shouldn't have [the baby]," she replied, according to an audio recording of the court hearing. "I can't make good decisions for myself, so what makes you think I can make good decisions for a baby?"

Quote of note:

Critics of DCF's intervention say it's just the latest example of Governor Jeb Bush's attempt to advance his anti-abortion agenda. In 2003, for instance, he sought to appoint a guardian for the fetus of a mentally retarded woman who was raped. The case dragged on so long that the woman ended up having the baby though the Florida Supreme Court ended up ruling against Bush. And then, of course, there was the governor's recent attempt to have DCF take custody of Terri Schiavo so that it could reinsert her feeding tube after her husband and legal guardian ordered it removed.

Given that track record, says Howard Simon of the ACLU's Florida chapter, "it would take a blind man to not only [not] see the politics involved, but also the pattern of political influence used by this governor and his administration." A Bush spokesman's response: "The governor thinks that this is a very sad and tragic situation, but it's now up to the courts to decide." Though Bush seems less eager this time around to insert himself in a polarizing debate, abortion opponents are urging him to do so. "The eyes of the nation continue to focus on life and death issues in Florida," wrote activist Randall Terry in a letter to Bush. "Under no circumstances should L.G.'s baby be killed by abortion. I am begging you to not allow a repeat of the [Terri Schiavo] fiasco."

The Case of L.G.
When a 13-year-old ward of the state in Florida sought an abortion, the bureaucracy balked. Is another  culture of life  battle brewing?
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Catharine Skipp, Lynn Waddell and Arian Campo-Flores
Newsweek

Updated: 6:50 p.m. ET April 30, 2005

April 30 - The 13-year-old girl couldn't comprehend why she was in a courtroom. Her life had already been roiled enough. A ward of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), she discovered a few weeks ago that she was pregnant, and, unprepared to cope as a teen mother, decided to have an abortion.

But last Tuesday the day of the scheduled procedure the agency secured a court injunction to prevent her from following through. Now the girl, identified as L.G. in court documents, had to endure the added agony of justifying herself before a judge. "Why can't I make my own decision?" she asked Palm Beach County Judge Ronald Alvarez at a hearing on Thursday. "What is it that you don't understand?"

Feisty and defiant, she appealed to his reason: "I don't think I should have the baby because I'm 13, I'm in a shelter and I can't get a job."

But reason may only get her so far. Unfortunately for L.G., her case sits on a deepening fault line of American culture and politics. Only a month after the battle over Terri Schiavo's fate sparked a fierce national debate over the "culture of life," a Florida case has once again galvanized activists on both sides. Opponents of abortion rights are demanding that the courts protect L.G.'s fetus, while supporters decry what they deem an intrusion on L.G.'s privacy and a perverse politicization of her plight.

The clash raises the prospect of another showdown between Florida state agencies and the judiciary. And yet again, a vulnerable individual lies powerlessly in the middle.

L.G.'s life has been racked by hardship from the start. The middle child of three siblings, she grew up in a broken home, her attorneys say. In 2002, after her parents finally signed away their rights to her, she entered the foster care system. With no one to adopt her, she moved from one facility to another, running away at least five times. It was during her most recent escape in January that she became pregnant. (Asked by the judge about the identity of the father, L.G. refused to supply a name.) When L.G. found out about her condition, according to court testimony, a caseworker drove her to the Presidential Women's Center in West Palm Beach, where staffers administered an ultrasound and advised L.G. about her options. She decided to have an abortion and scheduled an appointment for last Tuesday.

Then the state's bureaucratic machinery intervened. That morning, DCF higher-ups sought and obtained a temporary court order blocking the procedure. L.G.'s court-appointed Legal Aid attorneys aided by the American Civil Liberties Union immediately appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeals, which now has the case.

Meanwhile, Judge Alvarez directed a court psychologist to examine L.G. The psychologist's findings: that although the girl appeared "to have a mild mood disorder," her psychological state did not "interfere with rational decision making." The judge also held a hearing on Thursday in which both sides offered witnesses. An expert presented by L.G.'s lawyers testified that she faced a higher risk of death from carrying the baby to term than from aborting it, while a DCF witness described the potential for "post-abortion syndrome" though he acknowledged that the supposed condition isn't formally recognized by either the American Medical Association or American Psychiatric Association. In that same hearing, Alvarez asked L.G. about her decision-making skills. "That is another reason I shouldn't have [the baby]," she replied, according to an audio recording of the court hearing. "I can't make good decisions for myself, so what makes you think I can make good decisions for a baby?"

The courts will have to resolve an apparent conflict in state laws cited by both sides. While DCF invokes a law barring it from consenting to an abortion for someone under its custody, L.G.'s lawyers argue that Florida state law protects a minor's right to choose such a procedure. Plus, says James Walsh of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, abortions are commonplace in the foster care system and "a foster child shouldn't be treated with any more restriction than any other child." The dispute is unfolding against the backdrop of legislative activity in Tallahassee on the abortion issue. In response to a constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters last year, lawmakers are crafting a bill to require that at least one parent of a minor seeking an abortion be notified. The complexities raised by L.G.'s case may affect the final wording, says Lillian Tamayo of Planned Parenthood in West Palm Beach.

But there's more at stake than the law. Critics of DCF's intervention say it's just the latest example of Governor Jeb Bush's attempt to advance his anti-abortion agenda. In 2003, for instance, he sought to appoint a guardian for the fetus of a mentally retarded woman who was raped. The case dragged on so long that the woman ended up having the baby though the Florida Supreme Court ended up ruling against Bush. And then, of course, there was the governor's recent attempt to have DCF take custody of Terri Schiavo so that it could reinsert her feeding tube after her husband and legal guardian ordered it removed.

Given that track record, says Howard Simon of the ACLU's Florida chapter, "it would take a blind man to not only [not] see the politics involved, but also the pattern of political influence used by this governor and his administration." A Bush spokesman's response: "The governor thinks that this is a very sad and tragic situation, but it's now up to the courts to decide." Though Bush seems less eager this time around to insert himself in a polarizing debate, abortion opponents are urging him to do so. "The eyes of the nation continue to focus on life and death issues in Florida," wrote activist Randall Terry in a letter to Bush. "Under no circumstances should L.G.'s baby be killed by abortion. I am begging you to not allow a repeat of the [Terri Schiavo] fiasco."

The abortion fight may obscure what many observers consider a far more pressing concern: DCF incompetence. The scandal-plagued agency made national news in 2002 when it acknowledged that it had lost track of Rilya Wilson, a 5-year-old under its custody. It still can't account for over 500 kids whom it's responsible for, according to The Miami Herald. At the Thursday hearing, Judge Alvarez directed his outrage at DCF for never alerting the court to L.G.'s flight from her group home. "To say that I am angry at that would be an understatement," Alvarez said, questioning why DCF rushed to prevent an abortion but not to find a missing child (DCF counters that it alerted authorities in Pinellas County, where L.G.'s group home was). "I don't know where our priorities in life are," Alvarez said. "The priorities should have been to make certain that an order to take [L.G.] into custody was issued as soon as possible ... But nobody cared."