Abortion

In Florida You Have The Right To Privacy — Except If You Are a Teen Who Needs an Abortion

A new ballot initiative aims to strip privacy rights from teens seeking abortions.

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The state of Florida believes all people have a constitutional right to privacy. Unless you are teen having an abortion. Then it’s totally everybody’s business.

Via Palm Beach Post:

“Citizens for Protecting Taxpayers and Parental Rights” launched the “Yes on 6” campaign last month, advocating for a constitutional amendment placed on the November ballot by lawmakers last year.

The Florida Supreme Court in 2003 struck down a 1999 parental notification law because of that clause, ruling that even children had the right to privacy.

The following year, voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring parental notification before a girl can have an abortion. Florida law now requires that parents or guardians be notified at least 48 hours before a girl can have an abortion and allows for judge’s to grant permission in certain cases.

But that law doesn’t go far enough, proponents of Amendment 6 on this year’s ballot argued.

Parents should be required to sign off on abortions as they must for body piercings and tattoos, said Randy Armstrong, a Tampa obstetrician and president of Citizens for Protecting Taxpayers and Parental Rights.

“On the one hand, Florida state laws honor the right of parents by requiring parents’ consent if their minor child should need medication as simple as an aspirin at school,” Armstrong said. “Yet a full surgical procedure like an abortion, which can result in permanent health or psychological damage or even death to their minor child, is exempt from this requirement. We believe it is unfair to parents.”

The backers of the amendment? The Florida Catholic Conference and the Diocese of Venice. Because no one knows better what is good for children than a bunch of priests who have never had any.