Abortion
Illinois court again delays enforcement of abortion parental notification law
An Illinois Cook County Circuit Court judge on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order on the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 only hours after the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board had ruled to begin enforcing the law. The order was sought by the the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU-IL) in support of a suit brought by a local medical doctor and a women's clinic on behalf of themselves and their minor patients. ACLU-IL alleged that enforcement of the law would cause major harm and compromise the privacy of some Illinois teen-aged women.
The Medical Disciplinary Board had declined on Wednesday to extend a 90-day grace period that the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation (DFPR) granted in August. Anti-abortion advocates like the Pro-Life Action League had welcomed the Board's decision but later in the day expressed disappointment over the temporary restraining order.
The DFPR's decision to grant a grace period followed a ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] in July by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] that reversed a district court injunction [JURIST report] barring the law's enforcement. The 1995 law, which has never been enforced, authorizes state judges to waive the notice requirement if doing so would be in a minor's best interest, but otherwise requires parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. Controversy on abortion laws has also continued in other states.
In August, a judge in the US District Court for the District of South Dakota issued a ruling clarifying that South Dakota doctors are required to tell women seeking an abortion that they are about to terminate a unique human life before performing the procedure, partially upholding a state law. In the same month, an Oklahoma state court judge ruled that a state law requiring women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound within an hour of the procedure violates the Oklahoma Constitution.
(Published by Jurist - November 5, 2009)