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Teen Must Tell Parents of Abortion Plan

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

A Florida district court has denied a pregnant minor’s appeal to avoid notifying her parents she planned to have an abortion. The ruling stems from a 2004 state constitutional amendment requiring parents to be notified before teenage daughters terminate pregnancies.

The Second District Court of Appeal has denied the appeal by an unidentified Hillsborough County minor. Under the state’s parental-notification law, the girl’s case was submitted to legal tests to determine if she qualified for a notification waiver that would allow her to have an abortion without telling her parents.

A lower court ruled she did not meet the guidelines. They include advanced maturity or a determination that notifying her parents would not be in her best interest.

The appeals court ruling says the lower court carefully weighed the appropriate factors and the girl must comply with the law.