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A Florida judge ruled that a 16-year-old pregnant girl could not receive an abortion because she was not "sufficiently mature" enough to terminate her pregnancy.
An appellate court on Monday upheld a lower court ruling prohibiting the girl, referred to as Jane Doe 22-B in court papers, from receiving the procedure, according to a court ruling from Judge Jennifer J. Frydrychowicz. The parentless teenager was seeking a waiver from a state law requiring minors to get parental consent for an abortion.
She had told the lower court she was not ready for a baby, did not have a job and the baby's father was unable to help her. She lives with a relative and has an appointed guardian who is "fine" with her decision. The girl also said she was "pursuing a GED with involvement in a program designed to assist young women who have experienced trauma in their lives."
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A Florida judge ruled that a 16-year-old pregnant girl could not receive an abortion because she was not "sufficiently mature" enough to terminate her pregnancy. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The teenager is under the care of Florida’s Department of Children & Families until she turns 18.
She had requested a court order asking for approval for the abortion when she was 10 weeks into her pregnancy. She argued in her petition that she is mature enough to make a decision about whether to terminate her pregnancy, which is required under state law.
But the girl was found to be too immature to decide the fate of her unborn child after failing to adequately articulate her request. The decision, however, could be appealed and re-evaluated at a later date.
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She had told the lower court she was not ready for a baby, did not have a job and the baby's father was unable to help her. (AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner, File)
Judge Scott Makar wrote in a separate opinion that the girl recently experienced the death of a close friend and that the court wanted to give her more time to evaluate her decision.
"Reading between the lines, it appears that the trial court wanted to give the minor, who was under extra stress due to a friend’s death, additional time to express a keener understanding of the consequences of terminating a pregnancy," Makar wrote. "This makes some sense given that the minor, at least at one point, says she was open to having a child, but later changed her view after considering her inability to care for a child in her current station in life."
The teenager is under the care of Florida’s Department of Children & Families until she turns 18. (AP)
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Florida's "Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act" states that physicians must receive written consent from a parent or legal guardian before performing an abortion on a minor, with exceptions for medical emergencies or when there is a waiver from the parents or guardian.
The state's new abortion law, passed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, bans the procedure after 15 weeks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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