Florida judge grants 17-year-old's appeal to seek abortion without parental consent

A Florida teen won her appeal to seek an abortion without parental consent after a judge had denied the request.

The 17-year-old, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, filed the motion in Tampa after finding out she was pregnant and a doctor would not talk to her about an abortion without parental consent.

In Florida, people under the age of 18 must notify at least one parent of their decision 48 hours before the abortion and get consent or a judge can excuse them from the requirement, according to Planned Parenthood. 

The teen testified that she lives solely with her father and he was against abortion except in the case of rape, according to court documents. She testified that she pays for everything outside the necessities her father pays for, has a job and wants an abortion because she is not financially stable enough to raise a child.

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Her first petition was denied when the court found her intelligence was "less than average" after she claimed her grades were Bs, when her grade point average was a 2.0, according to court documents. 

In the appeal, Jane Doe's lawyer, Rinky Parwani, explained a 2.0 GPA was average and demonstrated the appropriate level of intelligence. 

 A judge must consider several factors when deciding whether a petitioner is mature enough to terminate a pregnancy. They include: age, intelligence, emotional development and stability, credibility and demeanor as a witness, ability to accept responsibility and ability to understand and explain the medical risks of terminating a pregnancy.

According to Fox 13, the judge granted Doe's appeal and wrote, "The petitioner's testimony demonstrates that she possesses an ability to assess the consequences of her choice and the risk it entails, as well as the intention to reassess her decision after consultation with her physician."

She testified that her boyfriend will drive her to the clinic and her boyfriend's mother, who has helped her, would pay for the procedure if she elects to have it. 

"Any young teenage girl who is pregnant is already going through a huge emotional burden," Parwani told Fox 13. "What is really fundamental in this decision is the court understood that she had resources available to her to make the right decision."

Hawaii, Nevada and New York don't require any parental consent for an abortion;  Georgia, Texas and Utah do. Twenty-six states plan to restrict the procedure in some fashion if the Supreme Court upholds Mississippi's ban or overturns Roe v. Wade.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.