Florida court rules 16-year-old is not ‘mature' enough to get abortion 

A pregnant 16-year-old looking for abortion in Florida was denied the procedure after the judge ruled that she was too immature to decide whether she should terminate the pregnancy. 

The court ruling by Judge Jennifer J. Frydrychowicz was affirmed by Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals in Escambia County on Monday. 

According to the court documents, the teen—referred to as Jane Doe 22-B—is “almost seventeen years old and parentless.” 

Jane lives with a relative and has a guardian that allegedly approves of her decisions. She is “pursuing a GED with involvement in a program designed to assist young women who have experienced trauma in their lives.”

The teen had requested a court order approving her abortion around 10 weeks after she found out she was pregnant, a process that is required by Florida law. She sought the court's help with a “judicial bypass,” which is used by minors who want to bypass their parent’s approval. 

In her petition, she wrote that she “is not ready to have a baby,” since she is currently unemployed, in school, and “the father is unable to assist her,” according to court documents. 

“She had previously expressed willingness to have the child but later changed her mind after considering her inability to care for a child in her current station in life,” wrote Judge Scott Makar in a separate opinion. 

“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,” he added. 

However, others have been critical of the court’s decision regarding the apportion. 

“Instead of trusting and listening to her, the state forces her to give birth,” wrote State Representative Anna Eskamani on Twitter “

The decision is still open to another appeal. The teen “may be able, at a later date, to adequately articulate her request, and the Court may re-evaluate its decision at that time,” the judge wrote. However, Florida only allows abortions to be conducted up to the 15th week of pregnancy.