ORLANDO, Florida, USA: A woman with autism and cerebral palsy who was thrust into an abortion debate by Florida's governor will carry her pregnancy to term.

Governor Jeb Bush had wanted a guardian appointed for the woman's foetus, which is the product of rape. A judge refused. And on June 26, the judge approved a medical plan for the woman which includes completion of her pregnancy. The plan was recommended by the woman's court-appointed guardian, who says that delivering the child is in the woman's best interests. She says the woman is in good health and the pregnancy is "unremarkable."

The 22-year-old woman has the mental capacity of a toddler. She has lived in a nursing home since she was three, and cannot help police find who raped her. The woman is approaching her third trimester of pregnancy.

(Source: Associated Press, June 26, 2003)