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Friday, November 06, 2009

Courts - "Court blocks Illinois' parental notification law: State panel had cleared enforcement of law, but hours later a judge grants ACLU restraining order"

This NY Times story from Nov. 3rd, reported by Monica Davey and headed "Illinois Curb on Minors’ Abortions Nears ," provides background. It begins:

CHICAGO — Illinois officials are expected to decide Wednesday when to begin enforcing a state law requiring doctors to notify a parent of anyone under 18 who seeks an abortion. The decision could prove to be a concluding chapter in the state’s debate, more than a quarter-century old, over parental notification.

But enforcement of such laws has long been blocked in the courts in a handful of other states, of which Illinois was one until this summer. Then a federal appeals court resolved a constitutional challenge by finding that a notification law enacted in Springfield in 1995 could indeed take effect. Enforcement has since been delayed by procedural issues that are to be addressed in Wednesday’s decision.

Opponents of abortion say they view the possibility of compliance at last, perhaps by late this week, as a chance to end what they perceive as an unwelcome magnet in the nation’s middle. Illinois, they say, has become a place that attracts young women from around the Midwest who are seeking abortions because, unlike neighboring states, it has not been able to enforce parental notification. * * *

Under the law, doctors are required to notify a parent or an adult guardian of anyone under 18 who seeks an abortion, or risk action by the state’s Medical Disciplinary Board.

Exceptions are allowed for medical emergencies and cases in which the minor states in writing that she is a victim of sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect by a parent or other adult family member, circumstances that abortion rights advocates say many young women will be unwilling to acknowledge.

The law also allows those under 18 to seek a waiver from a judge, who could find them mature enough to make their own decision or find that telling a parent would not be in their best interest.

Critics have questioned the notion of waivers, arguing that young women may be unprepared to navigate the legal system, that their privacy could be jeopardized and that the process could take too long.

It was in part because of a challenge to the constitutionality of a waiver system that the Illinois law was enjoined by the courts for 14 years. Then, after this summer’s federal appellate decision, the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation added a 90-day grace period for doctors while the state developed such a system. Last week state officials extended the grace period until at least Wednesday, when the Medical Disciplinary Board is expected to consider whether an adequate system now exists.

Should the decision be to have enforcement of the law begin immediately, those pursuing the new challenge in state court say, they will seek a temporary restraining order Wednesday afternoon.

And indeed they did, as this story by Sara Olkon in yesterday's Chicago Tribune reports. Some quotes:
In a dramatic turn of events, a Cook County Circuit Court judge halted Illinois' parental notification law on abortion just hours after a state agency gave it the all-clear.

Judge Daniel Riley granted a temporary restraining order sought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois in the late afternoon, hours after Illinois' medical disciplinary board decided the state could begin enforcing the law. It requires physicians to notify parents or guardians when those 17 or younger seek abortions.

The restraining order was based on an October lawsuit filed by a Chicago physician and a Granite City women's medical clinic who believe the 1995 law is unconstitutional and would harm minors by preventing them from obtaining safe abortions or force them to carry their pregnancies to term. * * *

Critics of the delay say teens from neighboring states with stricter rules drive to Illinois to avoid talking to their parents about a pregnancy. Iowa requires notification, and with some exceptions, doctors performing abortions in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin must have parental consent before doing the procedure.

The NY Times story includes this graphic showing the status of the various states.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 6, 2009 10:06 AM
Posted to Courts in general