The parents of the 13-year-old pregnant rape victim are expected to appoint a new legal team when their daughter's case comes up in the Children's Court this morning.
The cost of legal representation will be met from a fund being established for the parents by the anti-abortion group Youth Defence. Advertisements appealing for contributions from the public are to appear in an evening newspaper today.
Until now the parents, who are from the travelling community, have been represented by a solicitor and barrister under the free legal aid scheme. The other parties, the Eastern Health Board and the child, have been represented by prominent senior counsel, Mr Michael McDowell and Mr Gerard Durcan respectively.
On Tuesday the parents' lawyers reached agreement with lawyers for the EHB and the girl on removing the 13-year-old from the care of the health board. This arrangement would have permitted her to travel to Britain for an abortion.
However, the following day the agreement unravelled after the parents decided they wanted their daughter to continue the pregnancy. They announced their change of mind at the court in the company of prominent antiabortion activists who had not previously been involved in the case.
According to legal sources Youth Defence, by involving itself in the case through the parents, has found a cheap and effective way of achieving its stated objective of preventing the girl from having an abortion.
The alternative would have been for the organisation to take High Court proceedings. But the option could prove expensive, and the organisation would have great difficulty in proving it had a right to be involved in the case.
The girl at the centre of the case is at present staying with a foster family outside Dublin. A psychiatrist who examined her reported that she was happy in her current home. This report also said she was aware of the options available to her and that she wished to terminate the pregnancy.
The national organiser of Youth Defence, Mr Maurice Colgan, said the fund was being set up in co-operation with the girl's parents. It was intended to use the money to meet their legal expenses and the cost of pre- and post-natal care for the girl and her baby.
