Bizarre! Florida Court Calls Teen ‘Too Immature’ For Abortion, But Mature To Be A Mother
The 16-year-old, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 22-B, was 10 weeks pregnant when she appeared in Florida court to ask for an abortion on the grounds that she was still in school and “not ready to have a kid.” However, the court denied abortion access while stating she isn’t “sufficiently mature” enough to terminate her “baby”.
In her petition, the teenager stated that she isn’t ready to have a baby, doesn’t have a job, is still in school and that the father is unable to support her. Shortly before she decided to seek an abortion, she also “experienced renewed trauma,” wrote appellate court Judge Scott Makar.
Escambia Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Frydrychowicz denied the minor’s petition on the basis of her maturity, but said that the minor “may be able, at a later date, to adequately articulate her request” and the court may reevaluate its decision, according to Makar, who wrote in his dissent that he would have returned the case to the lower court.
In the state of Florida, a minor who wants to get an abortion needs the permission of at least one parent. The 16-year-old, however, resides with a relative and a court-appointed guardian since she is “parentless,” according to court documents.
Read: Abortion ban: Woman May be Forced to Give Birth to a Headless Baby
Her plea for a waiver of that provision had been turned down by the lower court because it found that she “had not proved by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy.”
Many US lawmakers were enraged by the appellate court’s decision to uphold the lower court’s verdict, and most of them rushed to Twitter to express their displeasure.
Democratic Florida legislator Lois Frankel described the ruling as “unacceptable,” adding that it was “a dangerous & horrific example of Florida’s war on women.”
“Not mature enough for an abortion, but mature enough to have a baby. This is sick,” said Pennsylvania lawmaker Malcolm Kenyatta.
NPR noted a similar case with a different outcome in Florida: “This past January, a circuit court judge in another part of Florida denied another woman’s petition for this same kind of waiver, in part because of questions over her GPA. A higher court ultimately ruled in her favor, though not before the case shed a very public spotlight on the amount of discretion that judges have in making these kinds of determinations and the complexities of navigating parental consent laws in general.”
The Guttmacher Institute says 36 states have parental notification and/or consent laws requiring that parents of minors be informed or give permission for an abortion. Of those, three require both parents to consent. Ten of those states require just notification. In a medical emergency, 33 states let a minor receive an abortion, while 14 states permit a minor to obtain an abortion “in cases of abuse, assault, incest or neglect.”
And 35 states have a process that allows for a court to give approval, rather than a parent. But some experts believe that with the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, those laws are likely to change in a some states.
As NPR reported, “People under age 20 make up 12% of individuals who have abortions in the U.S., and minors ages 17 or younger account for about 4%, according to STAT News — meaning at least 50,000 adolescents seek abortion care each year.”
In Florida, where most abortions are now prohibited after 15 weeks, physicians must notify and seek written agreement from a child’s parent or legal guardian before performing an abortion on the minor. A minor may petition a circuit court to have these requirements waived under the legislation.
