A minor in Tampa, Florida, has been granted the legal ability to get an abortion without her parents’ knowledge or consent, overturning a previous decision denying her judicial bypass, Fox 13 Tampa Bay reports.
The 17-year-old girl, identified only as “Jane Doe” in court documents, told the court she was seeking information about obtaining a chemical abortion without her parents’ consent from a local abortion facility, as she testified that she knew her parents would not agree to obtaining an abortion for her. Florida’s parental consent law, passed in 2020, requires minors under the age of 18 to obtain parental permission in writing before talking to a doctor about abortion, or receiving abortion pills.
The teen’s attorney, Rinky Parwani, told the court the girl wanted an abortion for financial reasons, insisting raising a child would be too burdensome. “That is huge for these ladies that petition the court for this,” said Parwani according to Fox. “They do have futures, they understand that having a child may limit those futures in different ways.” According to court documents, Doe testified that her mother pays her cell phone bill, but she uses her own money “to pay for everything else for me, like clothes, nails, and all the other necessities.”
READ: Planned Parenthood broke parental consent law, according to former abortionist
When at the abortion facility, an employee referred Jane Doe to the courts to obtain a judicial bypass, which she was initially denied. That decision was overturned on appeal. In the ruling, the majority declared that the girl showed “that she possesses an ability to assess the consequences of her choice and the risk it entails, as well as the intention to reassess her decision after consultation with her physician.” However, the dissent raised concerns about her abilities to make an informed decision in the matter, as well as Doe’s attitude being “cavalier throughout the hearing, cutting the court short, and having rather curt responses to some serious questions,” as well as misrepresenting her grades to the court.
Florida’s parental consent law is intended to protect potential victims of coercion or human trafficking, and applies to abortion the widely accepted standard for every other medical procedure performed on a minor in which parental consent is required.
As Live Action News has reported, the abortion industry has a history of covering up and failing to report human trafficking and suspected abuse of minors and others. Additionally, Florida has a history of predatory abortionists. Cutting parents out of the decision through judicial bypass, or overturning judicial bypass denials, leaves minors vulnerable to the abortion industry and sets a dangerous precedent for other vulnerable individuals.
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