Nebraska High Court: 16 Year Old Too Immature To Consent To Abortion, Despite Fear of Religious Foster Parents' Reaction

In In re Petition of Anonymous 5, (NE Sup. Ct., Oct. 4, 2013), the Nebraska Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision ruled that a 16 year-old girl living in foster care had not established that she is sufficiently mature and well informed about abortion to have the procedure without the consent of a guardian.  The girl had testified that her foster parents have strong religious beliefs about abortion. She feared that if they learned of her pregnancy, she might lose her foster placement. She also believed that they would at least take it out on her and tell her siblings that she is a bad person. The trial court had held that one of the foster parents needs to give consent, and their religious beliefs did not mean they would not act in the girl's best interest. The Supreme Court majority concluded it could not reach the issue of who should give consent, while the dissenters argued that the girl is in legal limbo because her legal guardian is the state Department of Health and Human Services whose regulations bar either consenting or refusing to consent to an abortion. Raw Story reports on the decision.