TAMPA, Fla. — A new report from Human Rights Watch found that Hillsborough County judges denied abortion requests for teens at a higher rate than anywhere else in Florida.
Currently, Florida law requires minors, or people under 18, to get parental consent before they can access abortions. But teens can get that requirement waived if they appear before a judge. The process is called a judicial bypass.
The process can be invasive — young people have to stand before a judge and detail the circumstances that led to their pregnancy and why they can’t ask a parent for consent, among other things. It can be traumatizing and intimidating, reproductive rights advocates say, and in the end, the minor could still be denied access. In Florida, that’s happening with increasing frequency, according to data analysis by Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit that investigates rights abuses globally.
