Nebraska Decides 16-Year-Old Must Give Birth Because She Isn’t 'Mature' Enough For An Abortion

[Tx4obama]

October 7, 2013

Nebraska Decides 16-Year-Old Must Give Birth Because She Isn’t ‘Mature’ Enough For An Abortion

The highest court in Nebraska has decided that a 16-year-old in foster care must carry her unintended pregnancy to term because she hasn’t proven that she’s “sufficiently mature and well informed” enough to choose to have an abortion. The teen sought to bypass the state’s parental consent law because her foster parents are very religious, and she worried that she would lose her place in their home if she told them she wanted to end her pregnancy.

Under the state’s current law, minors must obtain notarized legal consent from a parent or guardian before being allowed to have an abortion. There are three exceptions: a medical emergency, a situation in which there’s proven abuse or neglect in the home, or a situation in which the court agrees that there’s “clear and convincing evidence that the pregnant woman is both sufficiently mature and well-informed to decide whether to have an abortion.”

That’s a particularly harsh abortion law for minors. Nebraska used to require minors to notify their parent or guardian about their intent to have an abortion, but didn’t require them to obtain notarized consent in order to have the procedure. The state toughened the requirement in 2011.

And in a 5-2 decision led by Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon, the court ruled that the 16-year-old didn’t fit into any of the narrow exceptions granted under the state’s new parental consent law. They decided that her history of parental abuse — which led the state to remove her from her biological parents and place her in foster care — didn’t count as the type of “abuse in the home” to qualify for that type of exception under the law. They also concluded that the 16-year-old “failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that she is sufficiently mature and well informed,” so she couldn’t seek that exception, either.

-snip-

Full article here: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/07/2746231/nebraska-supreme-court-abortion/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Oh, but she's mature enough to raise a child?

Or do they expect her to give the baby up for adoption?

Either way, this just sucks.

[leveymg]

2. I take it she's under virtual house arrest.

That's a lifetime sentence those corn-fed yahoos are imposing on her.

[Turbineguy]

3. Maybe she could move to a more advanced state.

Like Afghanistan or something.

[leftyohiolib]

4. why not adoption? or go out of state?

[uppityperson]

6. Going out of state depends on where she lives, what means she has.

"why not adoption"? Please share your thoughts on abortion. Should they be legal? Under what circumstances? With what restrictions?

Thank you.

[uppityperson]

5. An ad on the page gave me big red VIRUS WARNING! Here is another link and ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon served in the 1980s on a committee for Metro Right to Life, an Omaha anti-abortion group.


http://www.chron.com/news/article/Neb-high-court-nixes-teen-s-request-for-abortion-4869315.php

(clip)Her attorney, Catherine Mahern of Omaha, argued that the girl didn't need anyone's consent for an abortion under the regulations of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which states that "if a ward decides to have an abortion, the consent of the parent(s) or Department is not required," although notification of the parents of the abortion might be required.

Bataillon rejected the girl's request, saying that for the purpose of her case, her foster parents would serve as her guardians — even though, under Nebraska law, the department is considered the guardian of wards. Bataillon also found that the girl had not shown she was mature enough to make the decision to seek an abortion.

Mahern appealed the girl's case, saying Bataillon failed to recognize the exception for abuse in Nebraska's parental consent law. She also said Bataillon should have recused himself because he was not impartial, as evidenced by his asking the girl if she knew that, "When you have the abortion, it's going to kill the child inside you."

"Probably the most disturbing aspect of this case was the judge's treatment of this young lady, referring to killing her baby," Mahern said Friday. "Who talks to a distressed 16-year-old girl like that?"...

[Tx4obama]

7. I've never heard of folks having problems with think progress before...

Sorry about that.

I have Ad Block on my computer so I haven't seen any ads for several years

[uppityperson]

9. It was some ad there, my virusthingie got it but it was weird. The article? ARGH!!!!

[Nevernose]

8. I work with the foster care system

I imagine it becomes very complicated because legally, she is a ward of the state. Nebraska is her guardian, and only Nebraska can give consent. The desires of the foster parents are usually irrelevant.

I'm certainly not defending it. I think anyone old enough to get pregnant, regardless of circumstance, is old enough to make the decision about what to do with her own body.

[Butterbean]

10. The cognitive disconnect........n/t