She needs out

What is the name of your state? Washington State
Hi. My best friend is almost 17 and she lives in a very hostile home with a nightmare for a father. It is possible that she is pregnant and i had heard that in Wa. that pregnancy equals automatic emancipation. Is this true?

Check out the following URL:

http://search.mrsc.org/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=legpage.htm$vid=rcwwac:leg

This is the statute reference in your state regarding emancipation.

thanks for the site, i still couldnt find the answer to my question, just other laws about emancipation. Does anyone know if pregnancy equals emancipation in my state?

As best as I can tell - no. If you are over 16, you can petition the court for emancipation, but pregnancy doesn't automatically emancipate you.

how can i know for sure? I remember talking to one girls dad, she was 16, and her dad said that because she got pregnant that it emancipated her. maybe its just a washington thing, but i really need to know for sure.

Unless her father was an attorney he's full of crap. The best way to find out is to contact legal aid in Seattle or Walla Walla and ask them. I seriously doubt though that this is the case.

how could i contact them?

Either of the two links below should help you find someone to call in WA. But I really wouldn't hold my breath - one of the reasons it is unlikely that pregnancy leads to emancipation is because it could lead to an increase in teen pregnancy. This is not something that would be a benefit to society as most teen girls are not prepared to support themselves, let alone an infant as well.

http://www.waaccesstojustice.org/atj/legasst

http://www.nwjustice.org/links/ls_related.html