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The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida Launches Teen Health Website, Toll-free Legal Helpline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 16, 2006
CONTACT: Brandon Hensler, Communications Director, (305) 576-2337, ext 16
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida announced today that it launched a new website to provide information for minors facing difficult pregnancy choices. The site, part of the PATH Project: Providing Access for Teen Health, provides legal information, rights for minors as well as links to other websites where teenagers seeking information on health issues, including abortion, can find assistance. The PATH Project has also established a toll-free helpline that minors can use to locate legal resources.
"Florida currently has the sixth highest teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. and many of those teens choose not to continue the pregnancy. Many of these young women - for a variety of reasons - are unable to tell their parent or guardian that they want to have an abortion," said Susan Derwin, Director of the ACLU of Florida's PATH Project. “The PATH Project trains attorneys to assist these teens with judicial bypass orders and helps match up teens with attorneys."
Derwin, a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law, joined the ACLU of Florida in February as Director of the PATH Project. After spending eight years as Assistant Director for a women’s clinic in Indianapolis, she knew that she wanted to focus on helping teens who are in need of abortion advocacy.
About the PATH Project
Created in December 2005, the PATH Project serves as an information and advocacy center working to ensure teens under the age of 18 have fair and equal access to legal services when they're faced with difficult pregnancy choices. The goal is to empower teens to make decisions - based on their best interests - about their own medical care.
The Project assists minors who, because of their unique circumstances, cannot inform a parent of their decision to obtain an abortion and helps pregnant teens navigate the court system to obtain a "judicial bypass" or waiver of the parental notification law. Florida law recognizes that parental notification may not be in the best interest of every pregnant minor, and provides a judicial bypass exception in certain cases, including child and sexual abuse.
The PATH Project provides a toll-free, legal helpline, lawyer training and referral program and website. Legal assistance found through the PATH Project's network of lawyers is free to minors.
- PATH Project Web site: www.pathproject.net
- PATH Project Helpline: (877) FLA-PATH
About the ACLU of Florida
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.
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