TALHASSEE – The Florida Court of Appeals took extraordinary legal action earlier this month when it collapsed as an unconstitutional law allowing minors to undergo abortion without parental consent.
Young people in Florida were able to petition the judge for permission to do an abortion without the knowledge of their parents.
This May, a 17-year-old pregnant began one of these cases. She sued when a lower court judge denied her abortion exemption.
The fifth local court of appeals took up the appeal. But instead of focusing solely on teenage cases, the court used it to weigh key constitutional questions. It is rare that a judge has approved.
The court’s decision effectively stops most minors from having an abortion unless their parents agree, further limiting Florida’s limited route to abortion, and sets possible questions for the Florida Supreme Court.
The move was celebrated by Florida Attorney General James Usmier and other conservatives. But abortion access advocates condemned it, saying the court was heading for it with the outcome in mind.
“The judiciary overreach won’t begin to explain that,” said Amy Myrick, a senior lawyer in U.S. litigation attorney at the Reproductive Rights Center.
I’ll invite you with AG
Before the appeals court judges got all the details about the teenage case, they drafted an order asking her attorney to answer four legal questions.
The questions had nothing to do with the specific circumstances of the minors, but they were more broadly relevant about the judicial exemption process itself, such as whether the minors’ parents had obtained legitimate procedures.
Later, in a move that some observers said was abnormal, the court invited Florida Republican Attorney General James Usmierer to consider the legal questions raised by the judge.
Uthmeier joined the case as an opponent, claiming that the judicial exemption process violated the rights of parents. (In the judicial exemption process, minors prepare petitions and judges decide whether the girl is “mature enough” to decide whether or not to end the pregnancy. Usually there are no other external parties other than the minor’s lawyers.)
“When you reach out to do a lot of things that aren’t necessary to resolve a case, it’s usually because you’re trying to make a big legal conclusion about it,” said Mary Ziegler, a reproductive law expert at UC Davis School.
Matt Staver, chairman of the free counsel for conservative anti-abortion groups, said it is not uncommon for the court to notify the Attorney General when constitutional provisions are being questioned, and that it is “very appropriate” for the appeals court to do so.
Last year, Usmeyer was Governor Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff, but was chairman of a political committee that opposed the amendment to protect Florida’s abortion rights. That revision ultimately failed in the November election.
Uthmeier opposed the idea that minors would undergo abortion without parental consent. A few months before focusing on Florida cases, Uthmeier submitted a simple matter to the U.S. Supreme Court that encourages minors to reassess what they have and the rights their parents have regarding abortion.
The Florida bypass process has been less frequently used after the six-week abortion ban was enacted last year. In 2024, the courts filed 130 statewide petitions, most of which were granted.
court
A judge from the Fifth District Court of Appeals recognized that the court’s decision to oppress the constitutionality of the law rather than more simply resolve the constitutionality of the law.
The court also said it was probably the “first and only” time. “We have avoided reviews so far, despite the immeasurable number of previous incidents.”
In a recent agreement in the 5th District case, Judge John Massiver said the court thought it was appropriate for the court to address constitutional questions because “by design” the law prevents those parents from being notified, and therefore children cannot challenge abortion themselves without their own knowledge.
Judicial actions were prepared by a move by the First District Court of Appeals last year. The court said it could not review abortion exemption cases because there were no parties opposed to the minors.
“The only opportunity to defend these fundamental rights is here as Florida Attorney General was briefly invited as Amicus and instead asked for intervention,” Masiver said.
Of the three judges from the fifth district who heard of the incident, two have been appointed to Desantis. Maciver and Jordan Pratt wrote decisions and worked for a conservative religious freedom law firm representing the anti-abortion party.
This week’s Pratt was appointed federal judge by President Donald Trump.
Third Justice, Brian Lambert, was appointed by former Governor Rick Scott. The judge did not object.
How about teenagers now?
After the court’s decision, there are limited circumstances in which minors can use the exemption process, including whether or not minors are victims of child abuse, Elizabethrin, an abortion access group lawyer, said
“For the majority of people under the age of 18 in Florida, the judicial bypass or judicial exemption process is no longer an option,” Lynn said.
With the verdict in place, pregnant minors in the Florida village system find themselves in unknown territory.
Florida law prohibits child and family departments from allowing abortion. In other words, adopters have no choice but to use the judicial exemption process if they want to end their pregnancy.
Lynn said the ruling could create a foster child division process as it leaves the path just for victims of child abuse. Young people in the system due to abuse may have access to the waiver process, but they cannot develop young people in the system for other reasons.
Ling said that research shows that young people were primarily involved with parents with news of pregnancy, and when people wanted them not, they “thinked very deeply and with very careful thoughts” about it.
She said young people are “being forced to choose between abortion and their safety and their health.”
Florida Supreme Court
The Court of Appeals said it expects a future Florida Supreme Court review on the issue of whether the Judicial Immunity Act complies with parents’ rights to the rights of legitimate processes.
If the Florida High Court heard of the case, previous precedents could mean sides with those seeking to dismantle the judicial waiver process. Last year, the Florida Supreme Court said the state constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion.
Ziegler said if a judicial immunity case moves to the Florida Supreme Court, it could be a way for anti-abortion advocates to discuss fetal rights at their briefings, hoping that the judicial authorities will grab it and include it in control.
If the court determines that the fetus has more rights, this could lead to further restrictions on abortion.
“They want to board the Florida Supreme Court on personality,” Ziegler said.
Of the seven state Supreme Court justice, five have been appointed by Desantis. Some people know the anti-abortion view.
Staver, chairman of the free counsel for conservative anti-abortion groups, said the recent incident that shocked the judicial exemption was a “probably the first step” in the direction of looking at the right to see the fetal rights of the Florida Constitution, and affirming parental rights more widely.
