A pregnant 16-year-old Florida girl was denied an abortion after a judge ruled she was too immature to determine that the pregnancy should be terminated.
Jennifer J. Friedrichjowicz.
The decision was confirmed Monday by the Florida First District Court of Appeals in Escambia County. Orders from the Court of Appeals may force teenage girls to become mothers.
According to the documents, Jane was "almost 17 years old and she is parentless."
The ruling also states that she lives with her relatives and that she has an appointed guardian who approves her decisions. She is "pursuing a GED by participating in a program designed to help young women who have experienced trauma in their lives."
This teenage girl, 18, remains in the custody of the Florida Department of Children's & Families until the birthday of .
Jane was requesting a court order authorizing an abortion of approximately 10 weeks' gestation for a minor required under Florida law. According to the paper, she usually sought "judicial bypass" involving minors who wanted to circumvent parental permission. ``I'm not ready to have a baby,'' he wrote.
She is currently unemployed, still in school, and "her father is unable to help her," according to court documents.
She also recently experienced the death of a close friend of hers.
Justice Scott Makar wrote in a separate opinion: A sharper understanding of the consequences of abortion. "
She had previously expressed her intention to have children, but changed her mind after thinking that she would not be able to care for them in her current life position." Makar writes.
This decision was not dismissed with prejudice and is open to another appeal. Jane
"may be able to adequately explain her request at a later date, and the court may reassess its decision at that time," the judge wrote.
In addition, her parents were aware of her decision to seek an abortion, and her teenager's affirmation that "no problem" meant that all she had to do was protect her. means only submitting a written waiver from the party. Invoking judicial bypass proceedings altogether.
But Florida's restrictive abortion laws prohibit surgical abortions after 15 weeks' gestation, leaving little time to make a decision.
Frydrychowicz described Jane as "reliable" and wrote that "at times she was steady and she showed she was mature enough to make this decision." .
Makar said the court "confirmed that the teenage girl was ``unprepared to assume the mental, physical, or financial responsibilities of parenting'' and that she was ``not justified in her ability to raise a child.'' I have serious concerns," he said.
