Ill. Abortion Notification Law Blocked

Michael Tarm

Associated Press Writer

Sun, Mar. 02 2008 11:39 AM ET

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CHICAGO (AP) — A state law requiring parental notification before a minor can get an abortion will remain on hold, a federal judge ruled, the latest in decades of complex legal wrangling.

Abortion rights groups on Saturday praised the decision, saying it could end chances for the measure to take effect. Proponents of the law said they were disappointed, and the attorney general's spokeswoman said the state would consider an appeal.

The Parental Notice of Abortion Act was passed in 1984 and updated in 1995 but never enforced because the Illinois Supreme Court refused to issue rules spelling out how judges should handle appeals of the notification requirement. A federal court held that the law could not take effect without the rules in place. In 2006, the Supreme Court unexpectedly adopted the necessary rules.

In a decision entered Friday, U.S. District Judge David H. Coar rejected a request from Attorney General Lisa Madigan that the federal court dissolve the order that put the law on hold.

Coar said the law still fails to give a teenager workable judicial options to notify her parents, calling parts of the statute "contradictory and incomplete."

Madigan spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said Saturday that the attorney general's office was "still looking at appropriate next steps for the state, including an appeal."

Thomas Brejcha of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society's Pro-Life Law Center, said he expected Madigan to appeal, if need be, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It's a major defeat for the people of Illinois," he said. "This is a defensible, constitutional law."

Currently, 35 states have parental notification or permission laws, and most states enforce them, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.

Illinois is the only state in its region that doesn't have such laws, and anti-abortion activists say that enables teens from other states to travel there to receive abortions.

The American Civil Liberties Union says that most teens inform their parents about their abortions anyway and that laws requiring notification leave some girls vulnerable.

"We're very pleased," said Lorie Chaiten of the Illinois chapter of the ACLU. "This should be the end of that law."

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Prophet

Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:21 am
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1/3 of planned parenthoods budget comes from our very own taxes that we pay.

seedplanter

Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:27 pm
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The point is that I have heard of girls dying in abortion clinics and there is no excuse for that. Abortion clinics recieve the least amount of government oversight in the health care industry (if you want to call it a part of that).

Prophet

Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:16 pm
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Until a child is 18, they are the parents responsibility. Period. Anything they do should be under the parents awareness, ESPECIALLY a surgical procedure. What this is, is satan's attempt to strip parents of their rights and obligation to care for their children. He is destroying the foundation of our country, which is our family unit. Destroy the family, destroy the nation. We, as parents, are compelled, even if just by nature itself, to care for our children. We parents are responsible for the welfare of our children. We parents are the decision makers in our families. If a parent wants to relinquish their right to the welfare and upbringing of their children, they will be judged accordingly. And they have absolutely no say in why their children have become the adults they have become. They can't complain.

holito8

Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:34 pm
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Where are the parents before the pregancy comes?

ender

Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:31 am
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All surgical procedures carry a level of risk, granted they are often minor, but when you sign the surgical consent form these are noted. Since minors require parental/guardian consent except for emergency lifesaving procedures, who's going to be legally liable for incidents where something goes wrong? The MD? The person who gave them a ride to the clinic? The state? The school? The counselor who advised the child?
I'm sure the lawyers will go after whoever has the deepest pockets, but there will still be a question of someone being prosecuted in addition to being sued.

seedplanter

Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:49 pm
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GMG: "Last I knew, abortion was a medical procedure. Aren't all other medical procedures on minors required to have the consent of the parent? This should not even be an issure, for that reason alone."

Being from Illinois I concur that!

ifeelfine72

Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:47 pm
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topekan - that is exactly what I was talking about. You clearly haven't learned a thing.

1man

Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:43 pm
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hence the idea....don't tell my parents....

1man

Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:40 pm
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Have any of you that are Pro Life (the organization) sat down and really had an open conversation with someone that has had an abortion and really listened to what they had to say? Or to someone that was about the get an abortion and really listened to them? I have and every time, I hear the same things, they feel a tremendous amount of shame and hurt, etc but they also felt a deep sense of abandonment from a system that let them down. Both sides can bring a lot to the table to solve this issue but neither side seems that interested in listening. Not sure this argument is founded......thousands of children are being aborted being not failed by the system of gov't but aided by it......that's why it is politcal...trying to play catch up with all that are getting pregnant that will consider the "option" of death to their child few if any will consider that conversation unless itis with someone that already knows about the pregnancy which is usally the reason for getting the abortion to hide shame or regret for pre-marital sex especially at such a young age.

Topekan