Secret teenage abortions

Melissa became pregnant again by her boyfriend Dwain Smith [no relation]

The case of schoolgirl Melissa Smith, who had a secret abortion aged 14, shocked many across the UK who were unaware their daughters could be given terminations without their parents being informed.

Speaking about her ordeal for the first time, Melissa tells Real Story how she now regrets losing the baby and wishes she had involved her mother in the decision.

Maureen Smith publicly admonished her daughter's school for not contacting her after a health worker had failed to persuade Melissa to tell her mother about the pregnancy.

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"If something had gone wrong with Melissa's abortion, I wasn't supposed to know.

"She was going there [the hospital] with another 14 year-old for support."

Real Story follows the Smith family as they meet Sue Axon, a mother from Manchester who is about to launch a High Court challenge seeking to put an end to secret schoolgirl abortions.

And, in an interesting twist to the tale, Melissa, now aged 16, is about to give birth in what her mother believes is an attempt to replace the baby she lost.

Mother angry at secret abortions

Mother to challenge abortion laws

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Real Story - BBC ONE, Monday 25 July, 2005 at 193O BST.

This is a BFM / Grace production for Real Story.