A 10-year-old girl fell pregnant after she was raped by a 14-year-old she met online, a court has heard.
The schoolgirl, who cannot be named, wanted to keep the baby following the alleged attack in May.
Elva EtienneThe 10-year-old girl wanted to keep the baby, but will now undergo an abortion[/caption]
She said the pregnancy made her feel “special” and would provide her with an excuse not to have to return to school.
But a judge sitting at the High Court in London today said an abortion, due to take place this week, was in the child’s best interests.
The shocking case has come to light after details of last month’s private hearing were finally made public this week.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said the girl, known only as AZ, was 14 weeks and six days pregnant at the time.
In her ruling, she said: “When the many risks of continuing with the pregnancy were explained to her, AZ said she was ‘happy’ to be pregnant and wanted to continue with it.
“She said it made her feel ‘special’. The mother supported AZ’s position.”
But a mental health consultant said the girl “lacked competence” and appeared “very idealistic and unrealistic”.
The judge added: “Her views involved ‘naïve magical thinking’ in her approach to the pregnancy.
“She lacked the intellectual development and capacity to process the complexity of the decisions that had to be made and her emotional investment in one outcome was clearly clouding her judgment.
“An important factor in AZ’s decision-making was that the birth of a child would ensure she would not have to return to school.”
The girl, who is now 11 and lives at home with her mum and dad, has not been at school since February.
A team of specialists considered the risks to the child if she proceeded with the pregnancy and “unanimously” agreed an abortion was in her best interests.
Her chances of dying during childbirth due to her tiny anatomy were increased, the judge said.
The “risks and benefits” were explained to her parents and they later agreed to support the termination.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot continued: “The physical health risks set out were those over and above the normal risks of pregnancy.
“The specialists made the point that there are no studies on pregnancy in children as young as 11. The studies involved children aged 14 to 18.
“They considered that the risks would be at least as high and probably higher for a child as young as AZ.
“The doctor’s descriptions of these physical risks are clear and compelling.
“The risks to AZ are significant. I was particularly struck by the evidence about the impact of the size of AZ’s anatomy: whereas many adult women struggle with the pain of childbirth, a child of eleven is likely to have a much worse experience.
“Her body may be just too small to give birth other than by a caesarean. Any experience would be likely to traumatize her.”
She said AZ has since accepted the need for a termination, but wanted the adults to take the decision.
The judge granted the application – by a health board and local authority – and granted an order for the abortion.
But she warned: “The mother made the telling point to the social worker that there was a risk that if AZ’s pregnancy was terminated, she would just go out and become pregnant again.
“For some reason the parents do not appear to be able to prevent this.
“The risks of another pregnancy are obvious but there is no application for a declaration that an implant should be inserted against AZ’s will.
“Instead, it is hoped that AZ may well agree to this.”
A tissue sample from the foetus will be taken during the abortion for forensic testing as part of the criminal investigation.
“The 14-year-old denies having any sexual contact with AZ.”
EPAA hearing took place at the High Court in London last month[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
