Judging maturity in the courts: The Massachusetts consent statute

S. Yates and A.J. Pliner

American Journal of Public Health, 1988, vol. 78, issue 6, 646-649

Abstract: This study examined the Case Summary Questionnaires completed by attorneys representing minors at judicial consent for abortion hearings in Massachusetts and filed with the Women's Bar Association. The 477 Case Summaries filed between December 1981 and June 1985 were analyzed to provide a more systematic account of how the judicial consent statute is applied in the courtroom. After hearings which typically lasted 12 minutes, only nine minors were judged immature. No evidence for a discernible pattern justifying these rulings emerged from an examination of petitioner and court characteristics such as age, length of hearing, number of weeks pregnant, or presiding judge. Further, 11 lawyers privately reported they found their clients immature. In only instance, however, did the lawyer and judge identify the same adolescent. The findings add to a growth body of research that calls into question the ability of the consent statute to protect the best interest of the minors involved.

Date: 1988
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1988:78:6:646-649_6

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().