16-year-old is not allowed to have an abortion because she is not »mature« enough

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Women and men demonstrate in Florida in July against strict abortion laws

Photo: IMAGO/mpi04 / IMAGO/MediaPunch

A court judgment has caused outrage in the US state: an appeals court had denied a 16-year-old the right to an abortion and confirmed a judgment of the first instance.

The judges argued that the young woman was not "mature enough" to decide whether to have an abortion, according to The Washington Post.  

The teenager, who is ten weeks pregnant, told the court that she was “not ready to have a baby”.

She still goes to school, has no job and the child's father cannot help her.

"This is a dangerous and terrible example of Florida's war on women," Democratic US Rep. Lois Frankel tweeted.

"If a young girl is too immature to decide to have an abortion, how can she be able to carry a baby?"

Rep. Pramila Jayapal called the decision of a Florida appeals court "disgusting."

She was "angry" that a teenager was being forced to give birth to a child.

However, the court of first instance ruled that the young person had not “proved clearly and convincingly that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy”.

The Court of Appeal upheld this decision.

In Florida, minors need parental consent to have an abortion.

However, the 16-year-old no longer has any parents.

She lives with a relative and has a state-appointed guardian.

The girl therefore applied to the court for permission to have an abortion.

Abortion rights are one of the most controversial socio-political issues in the United States.

The country's Supreme Court in June overturned a nearly 50-year landmark decision that enshrined a nationwide right to abortion.

As a result, numerous conservative-governed states have begun to drastically restrict access to abortions.

kha/AFP