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Mum takes abortion fight to High Court

Blaise Tapp
18/10/2004

A MUM has launched a High Court battle to ensure that her young daughters will never be able to have an abortion without her knowledge.

Sue Axon, from Baguley, Wythenshawe, is challenging government guidance which allows children to have abortions without telling their parents.

She is seeking a judicial review of the advice, issued by the Department of Health this summer, and wants all parents to be consulted before abortions are performed.

She is not fighting to prevent her daughters Joy, 15, and Amber, 12, from having an abortion but she wants the right to be informed.

Mrs Axon said: "Whether you believe in abortion or not, I do not believe any mother would want her daughter to have an abortion without her knowing about it.

"I am very concerned that this could happen without my knowledge. I believe this concern would be shared by every mother in the country."

Mrs Axon, 50, had an abortion 20 years ago - a procedure she says caused her grief, depression and guilt.

Guidelines

She says she wants to shield her daughters from that pain. She also insists she does not want to encourage them to have under-age sex.

Lawyers working on her behalf contacted the Department of Health last week and informed officials she would be seeking a judicial review if the advice, issued in July, is not changed within 14 days.

Mrs Axon will argue that the guidelines infringe her rights as a parent under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The government's advice states that although doctors should try to persuade the child to tell her parents or a family member, every patient is entitled to confidentiality regardless of age.

The advice was issued following the case in May of a 14-year-old from Nottinghamshire who had an abortion without her mother's knowledge.

This followed another case in February of a 15-year-old from Greater Manchester whose mother discovered she'd had an abortion when she read a diary entry which said: "Had my termination (killed my baby)."

The Department of Health said it could not make any comment on Mrs Axon's case.

But John Smeaton, national director of the Society For The Protection Of Unborn Children, gave her his backing. He said: "We are very much behind such a case. We think it outrageous that children can seek to have an abortion without parental consent."

Should parents be informed if children have an abortion? Have your say.


| Submit CommentSubmit Comments | View CommentsView Comments(16)


Most recent 2 of 16 user comments

   I think if parents were closer to their children and their children knew they could rely on them they would seek their help/advise on abortion wheras if a child keeps abortion a secret from his/her parent this shows a lack of bonding between the two we should spend more time on our reletionships with our children rather than on the law permitting children to keep things secret from parents.
ashleigh, blackpool
31/01/2006 at 14:28

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   Dr HC Raabe comments as regards this story are shocking. I am glad that sense has prevailed and Sue Axon has failed. It should be obvious that some parents are a malignant influence on their offspring, and as such the right to keep them in the dark regarding abortion should be upheld.
Lewis Smith, Manchester
23/01/2006 at 10:57

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