Parentless teen denied waiver from abortion consent rule

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – An appellate court has upheld a lower court ruling that a parentless 16-year-old teen in the Florida Panhandle is not “sufficiently mature” to end her pregnancy while seeking a waiver from a state law requiring minors to get parental consent for an abortion.

The teen, known as Jane Doe 22-B in court papers, had told the lower court that her guardian was fine with her ending the pregnancy.

But the juvenile court judge in Pensacola found that she didn’t adequately articulate her request.

The juvenile judge left open the option for re-evaluating that decision if the teen could return to court and eliminate any doubts.

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8/16/2022 4:16:16 PM (GMT -5:00)