{"id":208872,"date":"2019-04-08T00:19:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T04:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=208872"},"modified":"2019-04-08T00:19:52","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T04:19:52","slug":"florida-abortion-bill-would-require-minors-to-obtain-consent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/04\/08\/florida-abortion-bill-would-require-minors-to-obtain-consent\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida abortion bill would require minors to obtain consent"},"content":{"rendered":"
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More than half of U.S. states require consent from at least one parent or legal guardian for a minor to obtain an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. (Shutterstock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MIAMI \u2014 Stephanie Loraine Pineiro was 17 when she discovered she was pregnant for the second time.<\/p>\n

She says her parents were livid about her first pregnancy a year earlier, though she never dared tell them she was raped. Her father took her to a clinic for an abortion. On the way home, she says, he threw birth control pills from the clinic out of the car window and ordered her to abstain.<\/p>\n

A year later, the circumstances were different. She said she became pregnant after having sex with a boyfriend, and was afraid her parents would force her to continue an unwanted pregnancy if she told them. She sought but was denied emergency contraception from a pharmacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was being forced into parenthood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She still had options for an abortion, but situations like hers might become more difficult under several bills before the Florida Legislature that could restrict access to the procedure, including a measure to require minors to get consent from a guardian before terminating a pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Sensing a shift in the U.S. Supreme Court, conservative lawmakers across the country have introduced hundreds of anti-abortion measures into state legislatures this year that could spark challenges that eventually may prompt the top court to revisit Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n

More than half of U.S. states require consent from at least one parent or legal guardian for a minor to obtain an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.<\/p>\n

Florida, a state that provided 1,472 abortions to minors in 2017, is one of the few states that require a parent or guardian to be informed 48 hours before the procedure in person, over the phone, or within 72 hours by certified mail. Many clinics allow parents to sign a notification waiver in order to bypass the mandatory waiting periods before a procedure is performed.<\/p>\n

A bill proposed by Vero Beach Republican Rep. Erin Grall would flip Florida’s status as a notification state to a consent state, where legal guardians have deciding power over an abortion. It would require physicians to obtain notarized written consent and government-issued proof of identification from a parent or legal guardian before any procedure.<\/p>\n

Grall said in a House Committee meeting that she suspects many parents are left in the dark about their children’s decision to have an abortion, and that they need to be involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my belief that parental notification does not go far enough. It does not give parents the opportunity to weigh in the decision that child is making,\u201d Grall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that parents have a fundamental right in the upbringing of their children,\u201d Grall said. \u201cThis really seeks to put the focus back on the family in such an important decision \u2014 a decision that cannot be undone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, a House Health Quality Subcommittee and Judiciary Committee voted in favour of the measure. The bill is slated to come before a Senate House Committee on Monday.<\/p>\n

Although a similar law was deemed unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in 1989, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has also publicly voiced support for the bill.<\/p>\n

DeSantis, when asked about the measure at an event last month in Miami, called the measure a matter of \u201ccommon sense\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re a minor and you have to get consent to do almost anything else, to me, that’s very reasonable,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

More than 60% of minors in notification states discussed their decision to have an abortion with their parents, according to a Guttmacher Institute study.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sarah Stumbar, a physician who works with predominately low-income families in Miami, said she is concerned about the percentage of minors who don’t notify their parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s due to their home situation,\u201d said Stumbar, who opposes the bill. \u201cThey’re concerned about physical violence, emotional violence, sexual abuse . about getting kicked out the house and becoming homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida law provides an alternative for minors who want to keep their parents out of the loop in the form of a judicial bypass, a hearing in which a judge decides if it’s in the best interest of the minor to not have their parents involved. The judge also determines if a minor is mature enough to make such a decision.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Florida minors filed 193 petitions, 182 of which were granted, per state records. In 2017, judges approved nearly 92% of petitions.<\/p>\n

Loraine Pineiro learned about the judicial bypass when she was desperate, researching methods to induce a miscarriage. A lawyer took on her case and they won.<\/p>\n

Without a ruling in her favour, her parents would have been notified ahead of the abortion, and under Grall’s bill their consent would have been required.<\/p>\n

Now 27, Loraine Pineiro works as a social worker and advocate for reproductive rights in Orlando. She said judicial bypass information is notoriously difficult to find, leaving many minors unaware of their options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s no consensus across the state on where to go and what to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they’ve been sexually assaulted, but Loraine Pineiro tells her story publicly as an advocate.<\/p>\n

Two-thirds of Florida county courts failed to provide adequate information to callers seeking information about the judicial bypass process, according to a University of Michigan report.<\/p>\n

Loraine Pineiro said that if conservative lawmakers want to eliminate the need for abortions they should broaden sexual education for minors.<\/p>\n

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