Girl, 14, Sues Family to Stop Abortion

(CN) - A state court in Corpus Christi, Texas, extended an order preventing a 14-year-old girl's family from forcing her to get an abortion.

The girl filed a temporary restraining order against her family on Dec. 21 after they scheduled an appointment for her to get an abortion, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

She is represented by attorneys with the Texas Center for Defense of Life, an Austin-based nonprofit.

Stephen Casey, chief counsel for the group, told the Caller Times that "she has the people she's relied on her whole life pushing her in the direction she doesn't want to go."

Casey said the teen has the right to make the decision herself, no matter what her age.

He said the girl accused a cousin of assaulting her by grabbing her by the neck, hitting her across the jaw and threatening to beat her if she did not get an abortion.

The Caller-Times reported that three of the girl's family members who attended the hearing last week told the judge they did not have an attorney to represent them. One of her cousins described the teen as mentally unstable and said she was not capable of making the decision to keep her baby, according to the Caller-Times.

State District Judge Missy Medary appointed an attorney to help the teen make decisions in her best interest. She extended the temporary restraining order until a Jan. 19 hearing, where she will either grant or deny an injunction that would last the duration of the teen's pregnancy.

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