Justices urged to decide abortion consent issue

An appeals court Thursday asked the Florida Supreme Court to take up a potentially far-reaching issue about minors who seek to have abortions without notifying and getting consent from parents or guardians.

The request, known as certifying “questions of great public importance” to the Supreme Court, came after a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal last month dismissed an appeal by a minor seeking a waiver from a parental notification and consent requirement in state law.

The Jan. 3 ruling appeared to be a first of its kind because the panel said it did not have legal jurisdiction to decide the case. The ruling said the case lacked a necessary “justiciable controversy” because it did not have an “adverse party.” Such an adverse party could have been a parent or guardian of the minor.