Teen blocked from having abortion in US as court says she is 'not mature' enough
A pregnant 16-year-old in the US state of Florida has been blocked from having an abortion by a court who told her she is 'not mature enough' to make the decision. It means she may be forced into parenthood if the court's ruling cannot be overturned – despite the fact she has told the court she is "not ready" to be a parent.
In Florida, anyone under the age of 18 must have the consent of a parent or guardian to have an abortion, but the anonymous teenager in this case – who is identified in court papers as Jane Doe 22-B – has been described as "parentless". As such, the teen petitioned the court to allow her to have the termination without the consent of a parent of guardian – but she was blocked from having the abortion by Circuit Judge Jennifer Frydrychowicz on 10 August.
Following Frydrychowicz's decision, the teen took her case to the state's 1st District Court of Appeal but the three presiding judges said she "had not established by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy."
Although the three judges upheld Frydrychowicz's decision to block the teen from having an aborion, one of the judges said that the appeals court should send the case back to Frydrychowicz for further consideration.
"The trial judge apparently sees this matter as a very close call, finding that the minor was 'credible,' 'open' with the judge and nonevasive," Judge Scott Makar said. "The trial judge must have been contemplating that the minor — who was 10 weeks pregnant at the time — would potentially be returning before long — given the statutory time constraints at play — to shore up any lingering doubt the trial court harboured."
Makar also said that the teenager has been savvy enough to do her own research into her rights, saying she had gained "an understanding about her medical options and their consequences."
The judge also pointed out how the teen had petitioned that "she is sufficiently mature to make the decision, saying she 'is not ready to have a baby,' she doesn’t have a job, she is 'still in school,' and the father is unable to assist her." Despite this, if the ruling against the teen is not overturned, she may be forced to carry the pregnancy to full term and give birth.
In June of this year, the right to access safe abortion was jeapordised for millions across America when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. However, abortion rights in Florida were endangered long before this as in April, the state's governor signed into a law a measure banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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