* 9:58 am - The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s parental notification of abortion law is constitutional. Read the opinion here.
React in a bit.
*** UPDATE *** From Terry Cosgrove at Personal PAC…
“Today is a dark day for the young women of Illinois. There are thousands of at risk young women who face dangers in their homes from incest, violence, drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, and abusive parents. Under this law, these vulnerable and terrorized teenagers now will be required to inform their parents, many of whom are absent, that they are seeking an abortion and then to face the consequences, whatever they may be. Today’s decision by the Illinois Supreme Court is nothing short of heartless and cruel, and will subject many of the most vulnerable women and girls of our society to countless risks to their health and safety. With this decision, Illinois has moved in the direction of right wing states like Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin, which are doing everything possible to abolish access to a safe and legal medical procedure. Personal PAC is committed to raising and spending whatever money necessary to elect enough pro-choice Senators and Representatives, as well as a pro-choice Governor, to repeal this devastating law. Illinois needs our Wendy Davis’–brave Senators and Representatives in the Illinois General Assembly who will act to correct this terrible injustice.”
* From Planned Parenthood…
We are disappointed by the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.
While we believe the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act puts the health and safety of teens at unnecessary risk, Planned Parenthood of Illinois is committed to doing everything we can to make this new process as easy as possible for teens if the law goes into effect.
Planned Parenthood agrees that in an ideal world, parents would be involved in their teens’ health care and engaged in healthy dialogue around responsible decision making. Most teens seek their parents’ advice and counsel when making decisions about their health care. But in some cases, safe and open communication is not possible. In those cases, research shows mandatory parental notice laws do not enhance parent-teen communication. Rather, they can be harmful to teens’ health and well-being. The focus should be on giving teens the information they need to make responsible decisions and continue to encourage healthy family communication, not erecting barriers to critical health care services.
Awaiting more responses. Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Thomas More Society…
Illinois’ long-delayed Parental Notice of Abortion Act will finally go into effect within a matter of days thanks to the Illinois Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling this morning that the law does not violate the Illinois Constitution. Under the Illinois law, passed in 1995 but never put into effect, a parent or guardian must be notified at least 48 hours before a child under the age of 18 undergoes an abortion.
“This is a huge victory for the rights of parents not only in Illinois but in all Midwestern states,” said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society.
The Supreme Court’s decision represents the successful culmination of an almost nine-year effort by Thomas More Society special counsel, constitutional scholar Paul Linton, to have the law enforced. Linton met with Illinois pro-life leaders at the end of 2004 to develop a strategy for reviving the parental notice law, which had languished in legal limbo for many years because the Illinois Supreme Court declined in 1995 to adopt a needed rule for confidential “bypass” hearings and expedited appeals for minor girls who were either deemed “mature” or made credible claims of family abuse. For lack of that rule, federal courts held the law to be unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement in February 1996. Linton and several pro-life leaders enlisted then-DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett to assist in the effort. In 2006 Birkett and the Thomas More Society petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court to adopt the needed procedural rule. Shortly thereafter the Supreme Court adopted the rule needed to put the law into effect.
The American Civil Liberties Union fought against the law, despite the new rule, on other federal constitutional grounds. The Thomas More Society was involved in the litigation when Peter Breen, then its Executive Director and Legal Counsel, recruited two downstate State’s Attorneys to intervene in the case to ensure a vigorous defense for the law in the state and federal courts. The ACLU ultimately lost their final federal challenge before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in July 2009. Yet, a day before the parental notice law was to go into effect in late 2009, the ACLU filed a new state court lawsuit claiming the statute violated the Illinois Constitution of 1970. The state trial court rejected ACLU’s suit, but the Appellate Court reversed and sent the case back down to the trial court for further proceedings. Both the Attorney General and the Thomas More Society then filed petitions for review by the Illinois Supreme Court. Both petitions were granted in November 2011. Linton, author of a widely acclaimed legal treatise Abortion Under State Constitutions, authored the Thomas More Society’s friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of over twenty Illinois State’s Attorneys in defending parental notice. Linton also orally argued in defense of the law before the Supreme Court on behalf of the two State’s Attorneys who had attempted to intervene in the case to bolster defense of the law.
The ACLU’s repeated challenges to the constitutionality of the Illinois parental notice law had resulted in Illinois becoming a “fugitive” abortion state – a “dumping ground” for out-of-state minors’ abortions. Until now, Illinois was the only Midwest state without a parental notice or consent law in effect. This allowed thousands of abortions to be performed in Illinois on non-resident minors who crossed state lines, often accompanied by the adults who impregnated them, to evade their own state’s parental notice or consent laws.
* Catholic Conference of Illinois…
The Catholic Conference of Illinois applauds today’s unanimous Illinois Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for a 1995 parental notification of abortion law to finally be implemented.
State lawmakers approved the legislation requiring that a parent or legal guardian be notified when a minor seeks an abortion in order to protect our children from making a life-or-death decision on their own. The measure includes a waiver for those children who have been physically or sexually abused.
Special interests and legal wranglings barred the law from taking effect for 18 years, setting up the state as an abortion haven for children from surrounding states, which already have parental notification laws in place.
“With this ruling, parents across the state and the Midwest can breathe a sigh of relief with the knowledge that state law finally allows them to fully parent their children, and safeguard their lives and those of the unborn,” said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois.
Gilligan noted the decision cited other court rulings that recognize minors often lack the maturity, experience and judgment to distinguish harmful choices, as well as observing that juvenile justice systems exist for those very reasons.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois strongly supported the original legislation, lent its support to defeating the legal challenges to the law, and fought off subsequent legislative efforts to undermine the role of parents.
- OneMan - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:21 am:
So is the Governor going to hold back their salaries now too?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:25 am:
I forgot this was still around. The courts certainly operate at their own pace.
- Madison - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:32 am:
Its refreshing to know that at least one of the branches of government gets it. Now that doesn’t mean that their paychecks won’t be vetoed until they “get it right”, but its nice to know somebody is at least looking out for citizens not getting a pension.
- Downstate Illinois - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:35 am:
Nice to know not every court has gone off the deep end.
- crazybleedingheart - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:36 am:
Shameful.
- Downstater - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:36 am:
Yes, courts can seem slow, but in another way we can say they are certainly deliberate. I trust the ruling will allow the policy to be implemented and its accompanying politics to be played out.
- Amalia - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:38 am:
repeal that.
- RonOglesby - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:46 am:
I dont see how this is a bad thing… I mean I can’t send my daughter to school with a damn asprin or ibuprofin or have her hand worked on (broken finger) without a parent there.
But some say at 15 she should be able to have a serious medical procedure without me knowing?
Look, I dont care about abortion. But there are those on the pro-choice side that are just as crazy as some on the Pro-2A arguments. Calm down, at 15, 14, 17, they are still a minor and someone’s responsibility.
- Empty Suit - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:47 am:
Good grief a school nurse can’t give an aspirin to a student without parental consent, but a surgical procedure is ok in the minds of some?
- OakParker - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:48 am:
Of course the Ill Supreme Court put a hold on this for ten years by not promulgating the rules for judicial bypass.
- Loop Lady - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:51 am:
this has been one hell of an awful week…politically speaking that is…unbeleivable…
- RonOglesby - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 10:57 am:
Love this part:
—
Planned Parenthood agrees that in an ideal world, parents would be involved in their teens’ health care and engaged in healthy dialogue around responsible decision making.
—
Since there are SOME bad parents out there we need to make the conversation about a 14 yo girl making her own medical decisions. The same child that can’t take an aspirin at school, drive, go anywhere without parental consent…
How about they focus on finding the bad parents and abusers noted in the responses.
- Anon - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:00 am:
Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought this law had a provision that a girl could go to judge, court, or similar if there was abuse involved. If I am remembering the law correctly, the first 2 responses are just plain nonsense.
- MarkT - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:06 am:
Thanks for the direct link RM. It seemed Justice Burke (or his staffers) wrote for clarity, which every non-lawyer can appreciate.
Specially appreciated:Justice Thomas for the Point-After.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:18 am:
A young person could likely end up at Planned Parenthood seeking assistance in such a troubling situation. I recall that this law had a provision where a minor could seek assistance of a judge. Could we not assume that PP would facilitate such a contact, much as they would facilitate an abortion? I get the whole incest thing but there is a way to address that - if this provision isn’t in the law please clarify.
- Jake From Elwood - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:21 am:
This was a judgment without a single dissenter. Interesting.
It makes perfect sense that parents should be kept in the loop on serious life and death decisions that their minor children are making.
To allow otherwise is to paint all parents with the “poor parent” brush.
- Amalia - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:29 am:
interesting that Bob Thomas and two other judges think the legislature should decide whether anyone has the right to an abortion in Illinois. actually totally frightening.
long ago, when I was in high school, abortion was illegal in Illinois. every girl I knew understood that they would save money to go where it was legal, to New York ,if needed and that all friends would help. there are just some girls who cannot go to their parents. and there are far too many girls who are sexually abused by family members and with that the whole parents/kids and aspirin thing just sounds nutty.
- RonOglesby - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:32 am:
Amalia,
And yet abortion is not illegal in illinois and that is not what the judges decided… They decided that a law passed in illinois that state my 15 year old girl cannot have a medical procedure without parents knowing about it is constitutional… She could still have an abortion here right?
Also, please name one other medical procedure she can have in Illinois without me knowing about it/consenting to it?
- Thanks - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:38 am:
What a great day!!
In Illinois, a minor cannot get a tattoo or go to a tanning salon but people think you should be allowed to have major surgery without even parental notification…amazing. A little sanity is welcome….thankfully the Court understands that parents should at least know if an abortion (surgery) for their minor child is about to stop their grandchild’s beating heart.
- Pat C - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:44 am:
It seemed Justice Burke (or his staffers)
I think the Alderman is powerful, but not yet that much so!
From Terry Cosgrove
Not used to have set backs in elections, and now the courts. Bummer…..
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:27 pm:
Kind of odd that the Catholic Conference is applauding the ruling, isn’t it? It’s still abortion.
The law is pretty mild stuff compared to what’s going on in other states.
Our small-government, freedom-loving “conservative” friends in Wisconsin just enacted a law requiring some women receive transvaginal ultrasounds prior to getting an abortion. Not for any medical reason, but as a tactic to get her to change her mind.
Times change. When I was coming up, conservatives wouldn’t say “transvaginal” in public. The government mandating such a procedure for political reasons would have been shocking to them.
- Kelsey - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:33 pm:
This is truly a victory for all young girls and unborn children. I am grateful that the courts finally made a wise decision. Imagine if this hadn’t been held up in court for 18 years. How many unborn children have been lost and how many young women are still suffering from the trauma of an abortion?
- Chavez-respecting Obamist - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:41 pm:
It’s okay Rich, I did type a response to Kelsey, but I saved you the trouble of deleting it.
I wish you had an ignore button though.
- RonOglesby - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:41 pm:
—
Not for any medical reason, but as a tactic to get her to change her mind.
—
Sounds like what you see the other way on rights the left doesn’t recognize. Neither of which are right. To put obstacles in the path of the legal action simply to try and reduce the chance that action is taken is silly. Either something is illegal or its not.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:43 pm:
Ron, what are you talking about exactly?
- RonOglesby - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:50 pm:
@Word
we could use guns as an example. High fees for a permit to own a handgun in NY, Waiting periods that run 2 weeks in Cali + fees. In NY the court just ruled that its 350 fee just to buy a handgun was fine. Yet the state showed it didnt need that much to cover admin costs. Its meant to discourage those without means from owning legally (you know… those people…)
In NJ you need to inform your employer if you buy a gun…
Hoops for the point of hoops to discourage a behavior of a legal activity through personal discomfort or peer pressure are silly. an activity or product is legal or its not. A right is a right or its not.
Dont get me wrong I think making sure proper emergency care available to women seeking an abortion is one thing. Trying to put up road blocks and play on conscience is silly.
- A Modest Proposal - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 12:52 pm:
When I think of Ohio and Wisconsin I think of right wing states…
- Jimbo - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 1:18 pm:
AMP, have you looked at the party affiliation of their govs and legislatures? They might be blue states, but they have right wing nutters running things there.
- grand old partisan - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 1:27 pm:
On the one hand, I totally get Personal PAC’s argument. Indeed, those circumstances (absent or potentially abusive parents) ought to be considered in policy formation.
But, on the other hand…..
I remember trying to hide stupid mistakes from my parents, not because I thought that they would be abusively angry (they never did anything to indicate that they would be), but rather that they would be (openly or secretly) disappointed. Was it rational or mature? of course not. But very little about being a teenager is rational or mature. Flash forward to present day, I’m a parent myself. I’d like to think that if my daughter ever got pregnant, she’d be similarly secure enough in our relationship to know that I wouldn’t become abusively angry. But I worry that she would (perhaps rightly) think that I’d be disappointed in her on some level, expressed or not. And as an irrational, immature teenager, that might be all the reason she needs to hide it from me and confide only in the strangers at Planned Parenthood. And that’s why I think we need the law as a back-up…. To ensure that it’s the parents – and not some stranger – giving counsel to minors in these situations - absent compelling circumstances to the contrary. Just as we don’t allow minors to make any other life-changing decisions (getting a tattoo, joining the military, etc) without their parent’s consent.
- grand old partisan - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 1:37 pm:
Also, for what it’s worth…. Despite the fact that Persoanl PAC wants to believe that their agenda is 100% on the right side of public opinion, it is not. Parental notification laws are overwhelming supported by the public. Parental notification is not, per se, a strictly “pro-life” position. Thus, it does not really represent a move “in the direction of” Texas, et al.
- downstater - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 1:38 pm:
This is a good decision in my opinion. I am the father of a 14 year old girl. She can’t even go in to see the dermatologist without a parent being present. She’s not of legal age for consent. I don’t agree with abortion but parents definitely need to be in the loop. Especially when it comes to the health of their children.
- votecounter - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 2:42 pm:
13 Years!!! It takes 13 years to rule and it’s unanimous???
- MarkT - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 3:50 pm:
==- Pat C - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 11:44 am:
It seemed Justice Burke (or his staffers)==
Heh. Guilty!
- Responsa - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 3:59 pm:
Whenever the word “abortion” is even tangentially involved with an issue, many smart and good people seem to freak and lose all proportion. We are not still living in the 50’s. In this day and age of explicit sex ed in schools, birth control options for both boys and girls, and even available morning after pills, it is absolutely stunning to me that so many unwanted babies are still being conceived and casually aborted.
That said, I’m not personally opposed to abortion on moral or ethical grounds. I want abortion to be legal. But the idea that it should be performed in secrecy; that a parent and/or the young woman’s pediatrician or family doctor should not be made aware of an invasive medical procedure or of any associated applied anesthesia or medication, is nuts. That some believe the girl’s family should not know or be informed to be alert for physical or mental after-effects just beggars belief. This is a good ruling.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 5:43 pm:
What’s interesting is the shot that Cosgrove took at Lisa Madigan in the very beginning of his statement:
“Earlier this morning, the Illinois Supreme Court, at the insistence of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, announced its decision to enforce the Parental Notice of Abortion act that had been enjoined in Illinois for nearly two decades.”
- West Side the Best Side - Thursday, Jul 11, 13 @ 8:24 pm:
The Illinois Supreme Court does very little, if anything, “at the insistence” of anyone. Other than to the extent that a decision in any case could be considered made at the insistence of the parties and their attorneys who are seeking a ruling from the court.
- wordslinger - Friday, Jul 12, 13 @ 12:11 am:
Love Bob Thomas because he hit that 28-yarder in the ice and snow in ‘77 at the Meadowlands.
That’s when Walter was a baby Bear and when Walter came to town, baby, I’m yours.
Like Carly said, no one does it better.
I was in junior high when Walter joined the Bears and I was married when he retired. You go through a lot of changes in those years, but I could always count on Walter, year in and year out.
After he retired, he hung around town and was always being Walter, running dodgy bars (believe me) and volunteering as an assistant high school basketball coach.
Then he got sick. I imagine it was the painkillers and the steroids that done him in.
I was watching Channel 7 live at a bar downtown when he went on with Giangreco. The whole bar saw the yellow eyes and skinny and said “oh my god, he’s dying.”
And he was. A blind man could see it. Unless you were a d-bag like Giangreco, who said “he looks like Gandhi, I could take him.”
I cried like a baby when when Walter died. He was my guy and always will be.
I cried in joy when Jarrett was MVP in the Orange Bowl. I get very emotional when i see Britney doing a great job on her TV gig. And Connie is as cool as can be.
Warts and all, I liked Walter a lot. He’s my Chicago Bear, and baby, where I come from, the Chcago Bears are bigger than the Beatles.
LOL, I like Bob Thomas, too. I wish I had some of that Kane County settlement money.
- jerry 101 - Friday, Jul 12, 13 @ 9:57 am:
This is horrifying.
Dear Abby ran a letter years ago that has stayed with me ever since the day I read it, and I was able to find it thanks to the power of the internet. This letter explains in exacting detail why parental notification laws are simply wrong.
DEAR ABBY: From time to time, you tell young women who think they might be pregnant and are afraid to tell their parents, to do so. I usually do not write letters like this, but I need to express my personal experience. I am a minister. Several years ago, I worked for Planned Parenthood and we had a young girl — around 13 years of age — test positive for pregnancy. We urged her to tell her parents, but she kept refusing, insisting, “Dad will kill me!”
Of course, we knew better, and finally convinced her that the best thing was to tell her parents, have the baby, and get on with her life.
Her father beat her so badly that she was in the hospital for more than a month. She lost the baby because of the beating and ended up in foster care.
I will never again tell a young person that her parents will not go crazy, and I don’t think you should do that either. Thanks, Abby. I enjoy your column. — REGRETFUL IN FLORIDA
http://oddgoose.blogspot.com/2005/10/abortion-parental-notification-and.html