Abortion access, even before 15 weeks of pregnancy in Florida, isn’t guaranteed — especially if you’re uninsured, on Medicaid, live far away from an abortion clinic or are under the age of 18.
A new report from Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization, documents just how much power Florida judges have in granting — or denying — abortion care to Florida minors, who face an arduous, confusing process.
Parental consent prior to an abortion procedure is required in Florida under a law passed in 2020. Before that, Florida law only required parental notification. Laws requiring some form of parental involvement in minors’ abortions exist in at least 35 other states.
Getting parental consent can be a significant obstacle, perhaps an insurmountable one, for a young pregnant person who lives in an abusive or neglectful household, or for a young pregnant person who has other concerns about getting a parent involved. Or for a young pregnant person whose parents are gone, or out of reach, like many in the foster system.
There is another way to access abortion under the age of 18 for those who don’t have a supportive parent or guardian to provide consent: going through a process that’s known as “judicial bypass” or “judicial waiver.”
Problem(s) is, this process requires finding the right court to appeal to, appearing before a judge, sharing the circumstances under which you became pregnant, and explaining why involving a parent isn’t in your best interest — which can be confusing, scary, invasive and traumatizing, not to mention time-consuming, all against the ticking clock of Florida’s 15-week limit.
“Your ability to access reproductive health care shouldn’t depend on the circuit court in which you reside.”
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Plus, it doesn’t always lead to being allowed access to abortion. On the contrary, according to the Human Rights Watch report — many Florida judges (roughly 70% of whom are men) deny abortion access to minors who don’t have parental consent. About 200 petitions are filed by Florida minors each year, and in 2020 and 2021, more than 12% of those petitions were denied.
That’s four times higher than the 3.3% denial rate in Florida in 2007. The denial rate is highest in Hillsborough County, home to Hillsborough Judge Jared Smith, who made headlines last year for his decision to deny an abortion to a 17-year-old, based on her grades. (He then lost his bid for re-election in 2022, FTR … before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to a new appeals court in December).
Hillsborough County judges denied half of all petitions in 2021.
But Orange County, believe it or not, had different numbers. From 2020 to 2022, Orange County judges denied 7% of petitions received. In 2021, that number was zero.
Only Miami-Dade, Pinellas, and Lee counties also had a 0% denial rate that year, according to the report, which highlighted seven Florida counties (out of 67 total) that’d received 10 or more petitions.
Orange County received 18 petitions in 2021, the year the county had a 0% denial rate. Hillsborough County received 21 petitions and denied 11 — a denial rate of 52.4%.
Abortion rights advocates argue that this process shouldn’t be required of minors at all, that your ability to get an abortion shouldn’t depend on where you live.
“How is it that a Hillsborough County young person — that as a whole, they are immature, but then you look at Miami-Dade or Orange County, and they’re more mature? It doesn’t make sense,” Annie Jae Filkowski, policy director at Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, told The 19th. “Your ability to access reproductive health care shouldn’t depend on the circuit court in which you reside.”
Criteria for approving or denying judicial waivers under Florida law is vague, advocates say, allowing for “highly subjective” decision-making by judges. Under state law, courts are allowed to consider factors such as emotional development, intelligence, and “credibility and demeanor as a witness” in their decision-making.
Bizarrely enough, failing to demonstrate a sufficient level of maturity — as determined by a judge — can factor into a denial, as demonstrated in the Tampa case. Of course, it makes total sense to force someone who’s deemed “immature” to bear the responsibility of birthing and caring for a child.
It’s especially nonsensical in a state that hasn’t expanded Medicaid (which doesn’t cover abortion care anyway); that has childcare prices that are out of reach for many working families; and that is home to elected leadership that regularly prioritizes corporate interests and headline-grabbing political stunts over the welfare of its residents. And thanks to a Republican supermajority in the state legislature, Florida is gearing up to restrict abortion access for Floridians even further.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, ending the constitutional right to abortion, more than a dozen states have banned nearly all abortions. Gov. DeSantis signed into law a bill banning most abortions in Florida past 15 weeks of pregnancy, and has said he’d sign legislation cutting that down even further, to a six-week limit.
Photo by Matt Keller Lehman
A child holds a sign reading “Fuck DeSantis” at an abortion rights rally in Orlando in January 2023.
DeSantis has also twice vetoed funding for long-acting, reversible birth control, despite bipartisan support, and ousted a twice-elected Florida state attorney who’d pledged not to prosecute people who seek abortions.
“No one should have to go before a judge to exercise their human right to access abortion care, and judges should not hold the power to determine a person’s ability to obtain basic health care,” Margaret Wurth, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch who authored the report, said in a statement about judicial bypass.
“Florida authorities should end this dehumanizing denial of young people’s rights.”
Authors of the report call on Florida lawmakers to repeal state law requiring parental consent for minors’ abortions. “Florida lawmakers have a responsibility to keep youth safe, and that requires removing unnecessary and dangerous hurdles that interfere with their access to abortion care,” the report concludes.
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