The appeals court denied a parentless 16-year-old girl from Florida Panhandle who was seeking a waiver from a state law that requires minors to get parental consent for abortion, sustaining the lower court's decision that the teen was not "sufficiently mature" to end her pregnancy.
The girl named Jane Doe 22-B in court papers, who was ten weeks pregnant at the time of the waiver application, reasoned to the lower court that she was not ready to have a baby given her living condition and status. She is just living with a relative, she does not have a job, the baby's father cannot assist her, and she was pursuing a GED, US News reported.
Circuit Judge Jennifer Frydrychowicz of the trial court made the initial decision, which was sided and affirmed by the three-judge panel of the state's 1st District Court of Appeal that covers northern Florida.
The ruling by Judges Harvey Jay, Rachel Nordby, and Scott Maka stated that the teen "had not established by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy."
The appeal court should send the case back for further consideration
However, Judge Makar wrote that the appeals court should send the case back to the trial court under Judge Frydrychowicz to allow further consideration, as relayed by Today.
The appeals court stressed that it seemed the lower court anticipated a renewed application as Judge Frydrychowicz left open the option for re-evaluation of her decision if the teen could return to court to remove lingering doubts, knowing that the minor at that time was experiencing stress and trauma due to a friend's death.
"The trial judge apparently sees this matter as a very close call, finding that the minor was 'credible,' 'open' with the judge, and nonevasive," Makar wrote. He further expressed that by reading between the lines of the lower court's decision, it appears that it wanted to give her additional time to be more discerning of the consequences of terminating her pregnancy through abortion, especially since she was under a lot of stress because of her friend's death.
This makes a lot of sense as the minor was open to having a child at one point but later had a change of mind after she realized that her current state in life would not allow her to care for a child whom she may not be able to provide for.
Florida's Abortion Law requires parent's consent
In 2020, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the need for parental consent for an abortion for pregnant minors. Underage teenagers can ask for a waiver from the consent requirement by applying from a state circuit court judge.
In the case of Jane Doe 22-B, her guardian supported her decision for abortion, as relayed by the appeal court's ruling.
The denial of abortion for the teen was just one of the average 200 cases filed by minors wanting to bypass the parental notification laws that Florida circuit court judges get to decide annually. Most of these petitions are approved, while an average of 18 petitions are denied every year, Politico reported.
This year, just before the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, Florida's abortion law bans pregnant women from having abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape or incest. However, this law is separate from the parental consent requirement for minors.
