Teen Sues Parents to Stop Forced Abortion in Houston Texas

A Texas teenager, 16, is suing her parents to prevent them from forcing her to have an abortion. The girl, from Hockly, Texas, doesn’t live with her parents anymore, and in documents filed with Harris County District Court, says her parents are coercing her into moving back in with them. The girl, who has not been named, is presently being referred to as R.E.K.

Currently the girl is staying with her paternal grandparents, in Hockley, Texas. She claims that her parents have threatened her with varying degrees of punishment if she doesn’t get the abortion, ranging from taking her out of school to taking away her cell phone. In addition to threatening violence against the father of the child, who is also 16. Her father is claiming that her daughter has been put up to the law suit by another party.

The girl claims in the court documents that her mother has had four abortions. She is being assisted in the suit by The Texas Center for Defense of Life. An attorney for the girl, Stephen Casey, told click2houston.com:

We were asking judge to stop them physically forcing her to have an abortion. She is legally protected. They cannot drag her to get an abortion, force an abortion on our client, what Roe established is minors have the choice. And when they do make the choice, folks are shocked that they want to carry the baby

Attorney Stephen Casey who is representing the “R.E.K”

Casey also goes on to claim that the girl’s mother told her daughter that she would slip an “abortion pill.” Presently the judge has granted a temporary restraining order in favor of the girl, making it illegal for her parents to force an abortion.

According to The Houston Chronicle there is a legal precedent for this type of case:

In 2011, the Texas Center for Defense of Life successfully obtained a temporary restraining order on behalf of a 14-year-old Corpus Christi girl whose parents wanted her to get an abortion.

Joel Androphy, a legal analyst for ABC 13 in Houston said:

Her parents cannot force her to have an abortion,” Androphy said. “If the parents force an abortion on a minor, the parents can not only be subject to civil responsibility, but they can also be criminally liable under our fetal homicide laws, because not only does the minor have a right to be protected, but the fetus does, even under Texas law.

Another hearing is scheduled for Friday.