DUBLIN, Ireland, May 9 (UPI) -- Ireland's High Court says a pregnant 17-year-old girl in state care has the right to travel outside the country for an abortion.
The girl, known as Miss D, is almost 18 weeks pregnant, and the fetus has a major brain defect, The Irish Times reported Wednesday.
The government's Health Services Executive, which serves as the girl's guardian, argued that Miss D could not leave the country without court permission.
The girl learned last month that the baby has a condition in which a major part of the brain is missing. The baby has a prognosis of three days survival after birth.
Abortion is illegal in Ireland, except when the mother is threatened by a medical condition or a suicide risk. The BBC said an estimated 7,000 women travel outside Ireland each year to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
