In a decision that could impact future requests by minors to have abortions without notifying and getting consent from a parent, an appeals court this week rejected a minor’s attempt to obtain such a waiver.
The waiver sought by the minor, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, would have allowed for an abortion despite a parental notification and consent requirement in state law.
Wednesday’s ruling by a three-judge panel of the 1st District court of Appeal marked the second time in less than three weeks that a similar request has been denied. But this week’s ruling appeared to be a first of its kind, with the appeals court saying it did not have legal jurisdiction to decide the case — and dismissing it.
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The appeals court said the case lacked a necessary “justiciable controversy” because it did not have an “adverse party.” Such an adverse party could have been a parent or guardian of the minor.
“This appeal comes to us with only the minor’s interests presented to the court,” said the ruling, written by Judge Lori Rowe and joined by Judges Thomas Winokur and Brad Thomas. “And without representation of the interests of the parents — the parties whose rights are directly implicated under the parental notification and consent law. Indeed, the appeal comes to us with no appellee (a respondent in an appellate case) at all. Under these circumstances, there is no justiciable controversy for us to adjudicate.”
Also included in the decision was an acknowledgement by Rowe that the ruling departed from how courts have handled the cases in the past.
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“We recognize that our court and other district courts have exercised appellate jurisdiction to consider many appeals from circuit court rulings denying judicial waivers …,” Rowe wrote. “Even so, none of Florida’s district courts have addressed in a written opinion our jurisdiction to exercise appellate judicial power in cases arising under the judicial waiver statute or whether such cases present justiciable controversies.”
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