16-year-old student told she is ‘not mature enough’ to have an abortion in Florida

17 August 2022, 16:11

Kamala Harris doesn’t hold back on Roe v Wade decision

By Emma Kershaw

"You're not mature enough for an abortion but you are mature enough to be a teen mother"

A Florida court has ruled that a 16-year-old girl is “not sufficiently mature” enough to have an abortion.

The shocking ruling comes after the circuit court judge denied the girl’s request to waive a state law that requires minors to seek parental consent for abortion.

The teen, who told the courts that she’s “still in school” and “not ready to have a baby”, is reportedly parentless and lives with a relative and a guardian — meaning she doesn’t meet the state's rigid requirement.

A court filing said that the unnamed girl "had not established by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy”. She was 10 weeks pregnant at the time of her initial request to the court.

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In response to the teen’s situation, Travis Reuther, a spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party, said: “Thanks to Ron DeSantis, Florida is now forcing a teenager to give birth against her will. That is an appalling and dangerous overreach by the Governor, who claims to represent the ‘free state of Florida,’ but wants to make women’s healthcare decisions for them.

DeSantis has refused to answer basic questions about abortion restrictions for months now, but his extreme bans are already leading to Florida women suffering severe consequences.”

The public was quick to comment on the contradictory decision.

“This is so profoundly wrong, on so many levels,” healthcare attorney Harry Nelson, who is not involved in the case, told The Daily Beast shortly after the final decision was made. “...The true believers who think it’s a good thing to require children to have children, that they think this is going to be a net benefit to anyone, are in a delusional place.”

“FloriDuh strikes again and makes me so angry. So a 16 year old isn’t mature enough for an abortion but she’s mature enough to raise a baby?! What kind of twisted pretzel crap is this?! More DeSantis dumb crap!” wrote one Twitter user.

Another said: “You're not mature enough for an abortion. BUT, you are mature enough to be a teen mother" God you just gotta love Florida Logic.”

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The decision to deny the girl to terminate her pregnancy comes just months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on June 24, 2022.

In June, Driver’s Licence singer Olivia Rodrigo spoke out in defence of abortion rights in a powerful speech.

Addressing the crowd at her Sour World Tour show in Washington, D.C., Olivia slammed the court. “Because we’re in DC, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say how heartbroken I am over the Supreme Court’s potential decision. Our bodies should never be in the hands of politicians, she said.”

Olivia continued: "I hope we can raise our voices to protect our right to have a safe abortion, which is a right that so many people before us have worked so hard to get. It's so important."