Girl, 10, raped by boy 'wanted to keep baby so she didn't have to go to school'
A 10-year-old girl who was raped by two older boys in the space of a few weeks said she wanted to keep her baby so she didn’t have to go to school
A High Court judge ruled that the child, now aged 11 and referred to in proceedings only as AZ, should be given an abortion. Mrs Justice Arbuthnot was told how the young girl became pregnant earlier this year, after being raped by a 14-year-old boy she “met on the internet” when she was still 10.
She was raped by another 14-year-old boy, a few weeks later, when she was 11, the judge heard - the second attack did not make her pregnant. The judge ruled an abortion was in the girl’s best interests after considering the case at a recent private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
An application was made by an unnamed health board to terminate her pregnancy, arguing doing so would be in the youngsters best interest - alongside taking tissue from the placenta for the purposes of testing in a criminal investigation. She also ruled that the placenta should be used for the “purposes of forensic testing in a criminal investigation”. The judge said that children involved cannot be identified and has not named the “health board” which began litigation.
However, during proceedings, she was told how, after an initial meeting in August of this year with doctors, AZ said she was “happy” to be pregnant and wanted to continue with it. The judge was told this was because it made her feel “special” and also meant she wouldn’t have to return to school. Her mother was said to have supported her position.
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However, a month after the initial meeting, in a follow up meeting on September 4, her parents concluded that a termination was in her best interest. AZ was said to have “accepted the need for a termination but wanted the adults to take the decision, rather than her.”
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said she had considered the provision of the abortion legislation. Specialist evidence showed that the girl lacked the “intellectual development and capacity” to “process the complexity of the decisions that had to be made”, said the judge. Doctors had told the judge that “physical health risks” were “over and above the normal risks of pregnancy”. They said there were “no studies on pregnancy in children as young as 11”.
The judge said the risks of continuing the pregnancy and childbirth were “significant”. She said she was concerned about the impact of the “size” of the girl’s “anatomy”. “Her body may be just too small to give birth other than by a caesarean. Any experience would be likely to traumatise her.”
Giving judgement, Mrs Justice said: “It is in her best interests to have a termination. In my judgement, the termination should take place this week as any delay will put AZ at increased risk.”
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