A thirteen-year old girl, “Laura,” who is three months pregnant, has been denied an abortion by an Italian court, overturning the decision of her guardian to go ahead with the procedure. Laura is three months pregnant by her fourteen-year old boyfriend, who is also mentally disabled.
Her guardian described Laura as a “a 7-year-old who can’t tell the difference between a baby and a doll.”
Anti-abortion activists intervened in Laura’s case and replaced her guardian and put her into a Catholic home. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, condemned the guardian’s decision to allow the abortion. However, L’Unita, a more liberal Italian newspaper, called the outcome “a flag of victory planted on a mistaken battleground.”
