Florida Court Rules 16-Year-Old Not ‘Mature’ Enough to Get Abortion – By Nikki McCain Ramirez (Rolling Stone) / Aug 16, 2022
A Florida appellate court ruled on Monday that a 16-year-old girl had “not established clear and convincing evidence” that she was “mature” enough to decide if she wanted an abortion. Instead, the state will force her to have a child at 16.
Florida appeals court affirms an order prohibiting a parentless 16-year-old from terminating her pregnancy on the grounds that she has not proved she is mature enough to get an abortion. So the state will force her to have a child instead. https://t.co/1UqnPUErG0 pic.twitter.com/z8uMmAoxub
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) August 16, 2022
The teen, who “is almost seventeen years-old and parentless,” lives with a relative but “has an appointed guardian,” according to the appeal decision. She had previously gone to court to seek an exemption from a law that would require consent from a parent or guardian to obtain the procedure, which was not granted. The teen informed the court that while her guardian “was fine” with her obtaining the procedure, they had never provided the required waiver.
Pleading her case, the teen argued to the court that she was not ready to become a parent. According to court documents, she was pursuing her GED “with involvement in a program designed to assist young women who have experienced trauma in their lives” and that the father of the fetus “is unable to assist her.” In the original trial, the judge found that the girl “showed, at times, that she is stable and mature enough to make this decision [and] acknowledges she is not ready for the emotional, physical, or financial responsibility of raising a child,” and that her concerns about raising a child are “valid.” The judge still chose to reject the petition, saying that the court found the minor “may be able, at a later date, to adequately articulate her request.”
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