Miss D 'not suicidal' over her pregnancy, court told

The 17-year-old pregnant girl at the centre of the latest abortion controversy told a psychiatrist she was happy with being pregnant and had "bought everything, including nappies", the High Court heard yesterday, when she learned her baby has a serious condition as a result of which its maximum life expectancy after birth is three days.

The girl, known as Miss D, was assessed by a psychiatrist last week who, in a report read to the court yesterday, concluded she was "not suicidal at present", had no psychiatric illness and had appropriate insight into her situation.

The psychiatrist reported Miss D had said she was very upset and had "run out of hospital" when she learned from a scan on April 23rd that her baby has anencephaly, a condition in which a major part of the brain is missing. She had said she felt guilty because she had not taken folic acid during her pregnancy.

She also said she was in a very supportive relationship with her boyfriend for over two years which was "even better now" because of his support during this situation.

She had decided, having learned about her baby's condition, that she wanted to go to Britain for a termination and was very annoyed when a social worker had told her she could not. "It's my body and I should be allowed to do with it what I want," she said.

She dreaded the thought of giving birth because it would be "pointless" as the baby was going to die. She also explained that she had taken an overdose some months earlier "to get attention", but she was not suicidal.

The report was read by Miss D's counsel Eoghan Fitzsimons SC at the opening before Mr Justice Liam McKechnie yesterday of her application for an order restraining the Health Service Executive from stopping her travelling to Britain for an abortion. The hearing continues today.

Earlier, Mr Fitzsimons said Miss D had been told by a HSE social worker that she was not permitted to travel to Britain for an abortion and that gardaí had been contacted.

Mr Fitzsimons said there was evidence that the HSE wrote to the Garda asking it to stop the girl travelling but a Garda superintendent wrote back on April 26th saying it had no power to do that. He was not aware, when the original papers were being drafted in this case, of that letter stating gardaí would not arrest the girl unless they had a court order.

The HSE, he said, had misconstrued the law. This was not a case where Miss D was seeking assistance from the HSE to travel to Britain.

Mr Fitzsimons said he would produce evidence that pregnancy with a child such as this posed a risk to the the health of the mother. An obstetrician had said there was substantial evidence that termination was safer than continuing with the pregnancy particularly when this was a first pregnancy and the girl was under 18..

Continuing with the pregnancy would involve risks, including of life-threatening thrombosis. There was also a significant risk of the mother's morbidity .

Mr Fitzsimons also argued that the "procedure" - the termination of the pregnancy - could be done in this State as, he said, it would not be a termination "in the traditional meaning".

As the anencephaly has been diagnosed, there was no viable right to life as the baby was going to die within a short time, he said. This placed Miss D's child outside the defence of the unborn.

When Mr Justice McKechnie said that the foetal scan result recording the fatal abnormality should be read in open court, Miss D left the courtroom with her boyfriend. The judge said he understood that it was distressing but it was part of the case.

In an affidavit, Miss D's mother said her daughter was very upset when she learned of her baby's condition and, after discussing the issue with her, she totally supported her decision to seek a termination. Her daughter was emotionally well-adjusted, despite her difficult circumstances now.

A social worker had told her the HSE was in loco parentis for Miss D and that she could not leave the State. The social worker had also said the case would be "a media circus".

In an affidavit, Miss D said a HSE social worker had, at a meeting in a health centre, specifically referred to the prospect of her being arrested. She said a suggestion by the social worker that she had changed her mind about termination was taken out of context from a conversation during which the social worker asked her what would she do if she lost her case.

In those circumstances she would have no choice but to continue with the pregnancy, but that was not her wish. Her wish was to terminate her pregnancy, she said.