In re Petition of Anonymous 5, 838 N.W.2d 226

Petitioner, a pregnant 16-year-old, seeks abortion without parental consent under Neb. Rev. Stat. §71-6901 et seq.
District Court denied petition; expedited appeal under §71-6902; review is de novo under §71-6904.
Petitioner placed with Nebraska DHHS after parental rights were terminated; foster care under state supervision.
District Court found petitioner not sufficiently mature or well informed to decide on abortion.
Petitioner argued Department regulation and statutory framework permit ward to obtain consent without parents; majority held otherwise.
Proceeding affirms district court; issues limited to three statutory grounds and jurisdictional constraints under §71-6903 and §71-6904.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Waiver of parental consent—abuse/neglect evidence	Anonymous 5 contends abuse/neglect by a parent/guardian justifies waiver.	State argues abuse/neglect by current guardians not established; parental rights terminated.	Not met; abuse/neglect must be by parent/guardian in place at petition time.
Sufficiency of maturity and information	Petitioner claims she is mature and well informed.	Court may rely on trial judge’s observations; record shows lack of maturity.	Petitioner failed to prove maturity and informed judgment by clear and convincing evidence.
guardianship and consent authority	Foster parents should be considered guardians for consent.	DHHS is the ward’s legal guardian; foster parents are not guardians.	Foster parents are not guardians; DHHS remains guardian; consent cannot be obtained from foster parents.
Jurisdiction to entertain judicial bypass	Electing not to obtain consent was unmet because consent unavailable.	Election to bypass required; impossible here since no guardian can consent.	District court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to hear bypass petition.

In re Petition of Anonymous 3, 279 Neb. 912, 782 N.W.2d 591 (2010) (de novo review of mature/well-informed standard in abortion-by-judicial-bypass)
In re Petition of Anonymous 1, 251 Neb. 424, 558 N.W.2d 784 (1997) (maturity/judgment considerations in abortion-by-judicial-bypass)
In re Petition of Anonymous 2, 253 Neb. 485, 570 N.W.2d 836 (1997) (abuse/neglect considerations for abortion bypass)
Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 99 S. Ct. 3035, 61 L. Ed. 2d 797 (1979) (constitutional basis for parental consent/notification)
Smith v. Lincoln Meadows Homeowners Assn., 267 Neb. 849, 678 N.W.2d 726 (2004) (illustrative rule on pleading and procedure)
Nebraska Republican Party v. Gale, 283 Neb. 596, 812 N.W.2d 273 (2012) (agency regulations have force of statutory law when properly adopted)
In re Interest of Trey H., 281 Neb. 760, 798 N.W.2d 607 (2011) (state interests in protecting a minor ward; procedural context)