Bipolar sufferer in legal battle over abortion

[Jazzy]

A woman with a mental disorder who has repeatedly tried to terminate her pregnancy has asked a judge to allow an abortion after doctors said she lacked the mental capacity to make a choice.

The 37-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is 23 weeks pregnant and suffers from bipolar disorder, an illness marked by sharp mood swings and depression.

She suffers “persecutory and paranoid delusions” about her mother, her husband and social services and has threatened to kill herself if she is prevented from having a termination, the Court of Protection in London has heard.

She has “consistently” asked for a termination for several weeks and has sought one in a number of ways.

The NHS trust responsible for her care has asked the court to determine whether she lacks the capacity to make a decision and, if so, whether a termination is “in her best interests”.

The court heard it was a planned pregnancy and that the first few months had proceeded as normal, with the woman “enthusiastically” attending the usual scans and assessments.

However, “everything changed” in April, some time after she is believed to have stopped taking her medication.

She was said to have stopped letting her mother visit her and became violent towards her husband, the father of the unborn child.

The woman tried to arrange a termination at a clinic more than 200 miles from her home. The pregnancy only continued because she was detained under the Mental Health Act.

However, since then she has tried to buy drugs to induce labour, smoked heavily and consumed cannabis in a bid to induce a termination.

The court heard that the woman was “far from incapable” of discussing the issues and had recorded an interview, submitted as evidence, because she was keen for the judge to hear her views directly.

In it, she claimed to be in an unhappy, unsupportive marriage and that her future appeared incredibly bleak.

The woman’s consultant psychiatrist told the court he was “100 per cent certain” that she lacked mental capacity.

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So, she stops taking her medication. She claims she's in an unhappy and unsupportive marriage. Yet, this was a PLANNED pregnancy. Now she wants to abort a baby because she cannot decide whether she wants it or not??? This is murder plain and simple.

What are your thoughts?