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Subject:
teen age abortions
Category: Miscellaneous Asked by: 6100-ga List Price: $20.00 |
Posted:
29 Jan 2004 12:17 PST
Expires: 28 Feb 2004 12:17 PST Question ID: 301528 |
in Florida law, is a teenager an emancipated minor when she is pregnant and seeks an abortion whereby she doesn't need a parent approval?If so, can I obtain a copy of that law or statute? Thank you. |
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Subject:
Re: teen age abortions
Answered By: mvguy-ga on 30 Jan 2004 17:07 PST Rated: |
Yes, you basically understand the law correctly. If pregnant, she has same authority as an adult to contract for medical services insofar as they relate to her pregnancy. Here is the relevant law: Florida Statute 743.065 "Unwed pregnant minor or minor mother; consent to medical services for minor or minor's child valid.-- "(1) An unwed pregnant minor may consent to the performance of medical or surgical care or services relating to her pregnancy by a hospital or clinic or by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, and such consent is valid and binding as if she had achieved her majority. "(2) An unwed minor mother may consent to the performance of medical or surgical care or services for her child by a hospital or clinic or by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, and such consent is valid and binding as if she had achieved her majority. "(3) Nothing in this act shall affect the provisions of s. 390.0111." You can find the law on the following page: The 2003 Florida Statutes http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0743/SEC065.HTM&Title=-%3E2003-%3ECh0743-%3ESection%20065 Technically, the statute doesn't use the term "emancipation," but it is in the same section of laws as those involving what is normally called emancipation. That section of law (Chapter 743) lists the various situations where a minor is deemed to be an adult for the purposes of various rights. One of those is marriage; a married minor in Florida has all the legal rights of an adult (except for certain age-dependent laws, such as those involving alcohol). This particular law extends those same right to unwed pregnant minors to the extent they involve "medical or surgical care or services relating to her pregnancy." You may also be interested in the Florida Supreme Court decision that struck down the state's parental notification law. You can find that decision here: Counseling Services Inc. vs. State of Florida http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc01-843/op-sc01-843.pdf Note, however, that that law only involved parental notification. The notification law did not require parental approval for any medical services affecting the girl's pregnancy to proceed. That court decision cites the law listed above several times, making clear that it its intent is as you understand it. So even if the parental notification law had been upheld, pregnant Florida minors would still have had the legal right to contract for a legal abortion. You also may be interested in this brochure, which summarizes the law on emancipation, although it doesn't directly address the question you asked: Emancipation http://www.legalaidocba.org/documents/Emancipation.pdf I hope you find this information fully answers your question. Sincerely, Mvguy-ga Search strategy: To find the relevant law, I went to http://www.findlaw.com and followed the links to find Florida statutes, then I went and found the chapter that dealt with domestic relations. I later looked up the court case mentioned in the first comment below to make certain that the courts were viewing this law as the law of the land (in Florida, anyway). I also used the following search term on Google to find the brochure referred to above: term: "emancipated minor" "florida law" ://www.google.com/search?q=%22emancipated+minor%22+%22florida+law%22&sourceid=opera&num=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 |
6100-ga
rated this answer:
Thank you. Complete and adequate. |
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Subject:
Re: teen age abortions
From: md_phoenix-ga on 29 Jan 2004 23:01 PST |
I think you will find this document useful. http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc01-843/op-sc01-843.pdf Correct me if I am wrong, but the way I read above Supreme Court of Florida ruling on July 10th 2003, is that minor does not need to notify parent about abortion. --snip Section 390.01115, Florida Statutes (1999), is entitled the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (the "Parental Notice Act," or the "Act"). Because of concerns regarding the Act's constitutionality, both the trial and district courts below barred its implementation. The Act never has been enforced. We have for review State v. North Florida Women's Health & Counseling Services, 26 Fla. Law Weekly D419 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001), wherein the district court declared the Act valid. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. For reasons explained below, <b>we quash North Florida and approve the trial court's decision holding the Act unconstitutional under our controlling precedent in In re T.W., 551 So. 2d 1186(Fla. 1989). </b> --- snip Under the Parental Notice Act, prior to undergoing an abortion, a minor must notify a parent of her decision or, alternatively, must convince a court that she is sufficiently mature to make the decision herself, or that, if she is immature, the abortion nevertheless is in her best interests. The trial court analyzed the Act under T.W. and concluded that, in light of the Legislature's continued disparate treatment of minors in other statutes governing comparable procedures and practices, the Act fails to further a compelling State interest. Because the trial court properly applied the controlling law as set forth in T.W. and because its findings are supported by competent substantial evidence, we sustain its ruling. --snip |
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