Abortion of 13 year old blocked in Florida court because "she lacks the maturity to make such a decision."
I came across the article in the BBC, but did not notice it in our press (BBC News, 4/30/05). The girl is a ward of the court, and was to have an abortion on Tuesday, but was blocked by the state's department of children and families. They took it to the State Court (Judge Ronald Alvarez) which granted a temporary injunction pending a psychological evaluation. The girl is three months pregnant, so the timing may result in a second hurdle.
Where is the logic in this pathetic move? Department of children and families is asserting that the girl "lacks the maturity to make such a decision." Well, if she is not psychologically mature enough to make the decision to have an abortion, would it not follow that she was not psychologically mature enough to make the decision to become pregnant in the first place?! And, if she was mature enough to make the decision to get pregnant then she would have the maturity to make the decision to end that pregnancy, right?
There is no Florida state law requiring a minor to have parental consent for an abortion, and this girl is a ward of the state. It would seem that the decision of the court is very clearly political. I'm sure the religious right is very focused on the behavior of the courts, especially in Florida, due to the Terri Schiavo circus.