A pregnant teen sued her parents to stop a forced abortion, and won the case Monday with a long term injunction against her parents to be able to have her baby, The Houston Chronicle reported Monday.
The Texas Center for Defense of Life filed a lawsuit on the teen’s behalf on Sunday arguing that her parents “are violating her federal constitutional rights to carry her child to term by coercing her to have an abortion with both verbal and physical threats and harassment.”
When the pregnancy was confirmed, the teenager’s father allegedly “became extremely angry, was insistent that his daughter was not having the baby, and that the decision was not up to her, according to the lawsuit. He stated he was going to take her to have an abortion and that the decision was his, end of story.”
The teen, identified in the lawsuit only as R.E.K. since she is a minor, was “beside herself” when she called the center for help, her lawyer Stephen Casey last week, ABC News reported. The group claims it has previously represented teens in similar situations and won their cases.
This is the fourth lawsuit the organization has filed in the state on behalf of teens who are being coerced to have abortions, said Gregory Terra, president of the group. In one other, the case ended with a similar agreed order. In the other two, the group lost its fight.
As part of the order, the girl will be able to use her car to go to school, work and medical appointments. Her parents has taken away the use of the car as part of their effort to force an abortion, court papers stated.
The teen’s parents will be liable for half of the hospital bill when she gives birth, unless she is married to the baby’s 16-year-old father.
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