Jeb! fucks with another woman’s right to medical care
Jeb! is once again calling on the Department of Children and Families goons to get all up into a personal medical decision.
During the Terri Schiavo case, Jeb! used a spurious DCF claim of new evidence against Michael Schiavo to justify a kidnapping attempt by his jack booted state police, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. An armed showdown between state and local police agencies was averted at the last minute only after local authorities made it very clear that they would not allow the state to violate repeated court orders by seizing Terri and spiriting her away to have her feeding tube reinserted.
In 2003, Jeb! played politics with a mentally disabled woman who was raped while under state care. The woman, J.D.S., has the mental capacity of a 5 year old. After she was impregnated in a state facility, Jeb! fought to have a guardian appointed for the fetus.
Protecting J.D.S. from from being raped in the first place was apparently unimportant, and seeing to it that her best interests were met after the rape really didn't matter. All possible resources were mustered to ensure that J.D.S. would bring the child to term, even if doctors and judges and common sense indicated that an abortion would be best for all concerned.
Fast forward to 2005. A 13 year old abuse victim becomes pregnant while in state care. She seeks counseling from qualified professionals and makes an informed decision that, hey, maybe 13 is not the best time to become a mother. Her DCF counselor agrees, and will even accompany her to the clinic. Sounds like reasonable minds have prevailed.
But wait – here comes Jeb!, once again swooping in to pander to his base by depriving a woman of her constitutional rights. He and the DCF have stepped in to prevent the abortion, saying that the 13 year old is not mature enough to make a decision to end her own pregnancy.
Unfortunately for Jeb!, DCF in this case has no more rights than a parent would, and Florida courts have struck down the notion that a parent can step in and prevent such a legal medical procedure. The ACLU has stepped in on behalf of the girl.
As a 13-year-old Palm Beach County girl prepared this week to end a pregnancy she says she does not want, the Florida Department of Children and Families went to court to stop her from having the abortion.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the state's position Wednesday, saying DCF is overstepping its authority and violating the girl's constitutional rights.
The girl, identified only as L.G., lives in a shelter for abused and neglected teens and found out two weeks ago during a doctor's appointment that she is pregnant. Soon after, she told her DCF caseworker in Palm Beach County that she wanted an abortion.
The caseworker scheduled an appointment for the girl to have an abortion Tuesday and planned to drive her to the office, according to an appeal filed by the ACLU. On the same day, lawyers for DCF filed an emergency motion to stop L.G. from terminating her pregnancy.
In a hearing that day before Juvenile Court Judge Ronald Alvarez, the state argued that Florida law gives DCF authority to prevent L.G. from having an abortion. The state said the girl was not able to make an informed decision because of her age and immaturity, according to the appeal filed Wednesday by the ACLU.
Alvarez agreed to delay the abortion until the court could give L.G. a psychological evaluation to find out whether an abortion could cause her emotional harm. The judge also wanted the court to determine whether the girl would face medical risks in terminating the pregnancy or carrying the baby to term.
The ACLU and the Legal Aid Society appealed that decision Wednesday to the 4th District Court of Appeal, saying neither DCF nor the court had any right to interfere.
The U.S. Supreme Court's position that women have the right to choose an abortion overrides any state argument or law, ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon said.
"Whatever politically motivated, convoluted legal rationale they (DCF leaders) can come up with, they cannot ignore the constitutional rights of women as recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court," Simon said.
DCF spokeswoman Marilyn Munoz said Wednesday that DCF is "acting in the best interest of the child." She cited a Florida state law that says DCF cannot permit an abortion without a judge's consent, but declined further comment.
A spokesman for Gov. Jeb Bush also declined comment.
Under Florida law, a 13-year-old can have an abortion without her parents knowing or agreeing. The legislature is considering a bill this session that would require parental notification, but not consent, for girls under the age of 16.
In 1988 and 1999, Florida tried to pass laws requiring minors to get their parents' permission to have an abortion. The Florida Supreme Court struck both down as unconstitutional.
Because L.G. was abused or neglected, she has no legal parents but the state. But even as her custodian, the state has no more right to stop her decision than her parents would, the ACLU said.
The Supreme Court has established that nobody has the right to determine L.G.'s best interests but L.G. herself, the ACLU argues.
L.G., who is 13 weeks pregnant, does not believe she can care for herself or a child, said Bob Bertisch, the director of Palm Beach County's Legal Aid Society.
The girl has received counseling from a women's health clinic, talked about her decision with responsible adults and knows the medical risks of abortion, the ACLU and Legal Aid Society wrote in the appeal.
The ACLU asked the courts to act quickly. As she moves into the third month of her pregnancy, the abortion will become more risky, they said.