Brisbane Supreme Court grants girl, 12, permission to have abortion

A 12-year-old Queensland girl has been granted permission by the Supreme Court to have a surgical abortion after her mother was prevented from approving it on her behalf.

The Supreme and District Court building in Brisbane. Picture: David Clark

A 12-year-old girl who is about nine-weeks pregnant has been granted an abortion by a Queensland court.

An unidentified Queensland hospital filed the matter to the Queensland Supreme Court on behalf of the young girl, referred to as E, who had asked the hospital for a surgical termination with support of her mother but not her father who was unaware.

In the decision from June 16 filed online on Wednesday, Justice Catherine Muir said the young girl fell pregnant to her boyfriend who was 13 from consensual intercourse and knew about both the pregnancy and the desire to have an abortion.

She said her mother was supportive of the termination but under Queensland law a mother could not consent to the abortion on their child’s behalf.

“The hospital seeks orders from the court in its parens patriae jurisdiction to authorise the termination,” she said.

“These orders were sought because hospital staff are concerned that E lacks capacity to consent to the termination herself.

“All of the hospital staff agree, and I accept that the termination is in E’s best interests.”

Justice Muir said E’s mother believed she had capacity to consent to the termination.

“E’s father has not been notified due to concerns that he may become violent towards E,” she said.

“At the same time of the termination, E and her mother intend that an Implanon be inserted. If the surgical termination is to occur, it needs to do so soon.

“E is starting to experience the symptoms of pregnancy, and is missing out on school.

“She wants to obtain the termination before she begins to show signs of pregnancy, so that her father and her sister are not alerted to her pregnancy.”

A doctor advised the termination would need to occur before 12 weeks around July 7 to pose the least amount of risk.

Justice Muir said the court could be satisfied that E could give consent if she possessed a sufficient understanding and intelligence to know what is proposed.

“E reports learning of her pregnancy after missing a period and obtaining a pregnancy test, which was positive,” she said.

“Her immediate desire, and one that she has readily maintained, was to terminate the pregnancy, and she attempted to do this with an abortion tablet from a pharmacy.

“In terms of her father, E says she is fearful he will ‘lose it’ if he finds out she is pregnant, and her mother shares that concern.”

The young girl was described as intelligent with a promising future but had engaged in some immature behaviour recently having been suspended from school for swearing at a teacher.

She said it was good the young girl could speak openly to her mother and grandmother. E gave evidence before the court which Justice Muir said was done “bravely” in a process which can be daunting for adults let alone a child.

“Critically, E was able to explain to me what she understood she was doing by choosing to terminate the baby, and also that there were risks with this procedure, including bleeding, risks for future pregnancy, cramping and infection,” she said.

“E could not recall the risk of having the needle that put her to sleep, but this is not surprising, in my view, because as the evidence transpired, this was not explained to her in any great detail.”

Justice Muir said a psychologist was satisfied E wanted the termination but was concerned she didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the termination and pregnancy.

While a procedurist who is an obstetrician and a gynaecologist said she was concerned E was unable to explain the risks of a medical versus a surgical termination.

A midwife was also of the opinion E didn’t demonstrate sufficient insight into the operation’s risks and benefits.

“But this evidence needs to be seen, now, in light of the evidence that E gave before me, where she clearly articulated the risks associated with the surgical intervention,” she said.

“E is well supported by her mother and, it seems, her maternal grandmother.

“E’s mother believes that E shows maturity beyond her years, and that she was very aware of her body and how it functions.

“To some extent, that mature behaviour is supported by the report from the midwife and, indeed, of the psychologist, who notes in the progress notes that “E was able to express herself throughout the psychological assessment, and demonstrated reasonable comprehension and consideration of the impact of the pregnancy on her mental state.

“But having now heard from E in court, I am satisfied that she does sufficiently understand not only what is proposed, that is the surgical termination, but also the risks of having that termination, particularly the risks such as the bleeding and the consequences for further pregnancy, although, again.

“I note that the proceduralist assesses those risks as not being significant in this case.”

Originally published as Brisbane Supreme Court grants girl, 12, permission to have abortion