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(Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
The “No way” scenarios have been rolling in since the Court handed down the kick in the ute that is Dobbs. The first one —a ten year old rape victim being told that her assault baby was a gift from God that was so bad people came up with conspiracy theories about its veracity à la Alex Jones. This recent no way comes from an appellant decision that goes to the heart of self-determination and abortion.
A pregnant and parentless 16-year-old in Florida may be forced to give birth after an appeals court ruled she was not “sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy.”
The teenager, who is identified in court papers as Jane Doe 22-B, was appealing a decision by Circuit Judge Jennifer Frydrychowicz on Aug. 10 that blocked her from having an abortion without the consent of a parent or guardian, as required by Florida law.
As easy as it would be to make the obvious Dave Chappelle allusion and keep it moving, this occasion would be a really good time to think about the age of reason. At 16, I think that you are far along enough in life to make some pretty serious personal decisions that impact yourself and others. For example, here is a small list of the things sixteen year olds are generally considered responsible enough to do:
* Get a driver’s license and go 60 mph in two ton vehicles;
* New Jersey lets you drop out of High School (without parental consent);
* Obtain a passport (with at least 1 parent’s consent) and leave the country;
* Have sex without a parents approval (in most states);
* Get married without a parents approval (in most states);
There is also the matter of going deciding how one would even go about proving what seems to be central to the case, one’s “maturity.”
The teenager “had not established by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy,” the ruling by Judges Harvey Jay, Rachel Nordby and Scott Makar, states. “Having reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s decision under the deferential standard of appellate review set out (in the consent law).”
Forget quantifying this individual young adult’s responsibility for a second. As a matter of pragmatics, how does one even measure the relative measures of “maturity” inherent to deciding to have an abortion vs deciding to have a child? How many points does being able to work a 40 hour shift net? How many does falling prey to Multi Level Marketing schemes lose. Do Ravenclaws have an inherent +2 responsibility units over the relatively airheaded Hufflepuffs among us? Seriously though, I think the best thing to do would be to look at the context that the individual is living in and see if their decision amounts to more than a whim. And it looks like she’s clearly past that threshold.
[Judge] Makar also noted that in her petition, which “she completed by hand,” the teenager insisted “she is sufficiently mature to make the decision, saying she ‘is not ready to have a baby,’ she doesn’t have a job, she is ‘still in school,’ and the father is unable to assist her.”
And before you sweep that under the rug and say doesn’t matter, no parental approval no healthcare, I remind you that 1) I mean this in the least callous way… what parents? and 2) the judge included the fact that the “guardian is fine with what [she] wants to do.” Holy moving goalposts! If this flies, what’s the over/under that Florida retcons all statutory meanings of adult to 21 years of age? Or maybe adulthood is a status achieved when you no longer are anyone’s dependent? Considering that a Florida statute sets that upper limit at 30 years of age, Floridians better prepare their permission slips.
Florida Court Says Teen Is Not ‘Mature’ Enough To Have An Abortion [NBC News]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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