Florida Appeals Court Declares Minors’ Abortion Law Unconstitutional
In a significant ruling Wednesday, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Florida declared a law allowing minors to obtain an abortion without parental consent unconstitutional. The three-judge panel found that the judicial waiver process infringes on parents’ Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process. This decision is rooted in the state’s existing parental rights laws and recent judicial rulings, including a Florida Supreme Court decision in 2024 that stated the Florida Constitution does not guarantee abortion rights, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that eliminated federal abortion protections.
The appeals panel, led by Judge Jordan Pratt and joined by Judges John MacIver and Brian Lambert, emphasized that the constitutional rationale supporting the judicial waiver process has been repudiated by major court decisions at both the state and federal levels. The case considered involved a 17-year-old girl, referred to as Jane Doe, who sought an abortion nearly six weeks into her pregnancy without her father’s knowledge or consent. The court sided with arguments presented by state Attorney General James Uthmeier, affirming a lower court’s ruling that found the girl lacked sufficient maturity to make such a significant decision independently.
This ruling comes amid ongoing efforts by anti-abortion activists and Republican lawmakers to tighten restrictions on abortion access in Florida, particularly for minors. With laws currently banning most abortions after six weeks, critics argue that many individuals may be unaware of their pregnancies during this timeframe. The judges characterized the ruling as presenting a "question of great public importance" for the Florida Supreme Court, signaling potential further legal battles over reproductive rights in the state.
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