Arguments began yesterday over a 1995 Illinois state law requiring anyone 17 years or younger to notify a parent before seeking an abortion. The 17 year old law has yet to be enforced because of a string of multiple lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the law.
Medical professionals who are represented by the ACLU are challenging the law by arguing that it violates Illinois’ constitutional right to be free from gender discrimination and that the law is an invasion of privacy. The state defense supporting the bill argued that according to Illinois legal precedent there is not enough evidence to support a new legal case.
Lorie Chaiten, one of the ACLU lawyers challenging the law, told the Supreme Court that through the parental notification law “The state imposes harmful restrictions on those who seek abortions that it does not impose on those who choose to carry their pregnancies to term.” Chaiten told reporters after the hearing “If the state can come up with a justification for putting young women in harm’s way as this law does, then let them try to do so…But don’t just simply say, ‘That U.S. Supreme Court case from 1981 answers the question,’ because it doesn’t for us.”
Media Resources: Huffington Post 9/20/12; RH Reality Check 9/20/12; San-Francisco Gate 9/20/12
3 comments
susan says:
Sep 21, 2012
we will see what will happen next
Mary says:
Oct 2, 2012
I am wondering first of all you if know your are the “Feminist Majority?” You can only be a majority if you show the statistics that the majority of women in the U.S. are in your organization, which is an absurd impossibility. Since the title of your organization is an absurd impossibility, I am seeing that your argument regarding IL parental consent is a ridiculous argument, but I’m not really surprised about that.
For your argument, you are comparing two different things like natural pregnancy and unnatural abortion and saying abortion is treated too strictly by law. Pregnancy is not a medical procedure.
For your argument, compare medical approval for underage kids regarding any two medical procedures and you will understand that regardless of the medical procedure for any underage child, there always needs to be parental consent.
Thank you.
Jamie says:
Oct 17, 2012
The Feminist Majority Foundation is an organization founded on the idea that a majority of women in the United States are in fact feminists in that they care about the rights of women and strive for changes in a nation that has had a deplorable history in their treatment of women. As an organization, FMF attempts to establish a forum in which feminists are able to voice their opinions, read feminist news from around the country, and participate in events to promote their mission statement, which is “equality around the world.”
Furthermore, you say in your comment the FMF cannot show that the “majority of women in the U.S. are in your organization.” However, why can only women be feminists? I am a man, and a feminist. I believe women deserve to be treated equally and given equal rights in this country. I support organizations like the FMF that actively attempt to bring about gender equality not only in the US but around the world. Perhaps instead of attacking an organization that is fighting for equal treatment of women, you could go to an FMF sponsored event and have meaningful discourse with feminists. If you do not believe most women are feminists and therefore, the FMF is unfounded in its title, maybe you should check out coverage of the Ms. Magazine 40th anniversary celebration, or revisit many of the other FMF sponsored events that bring together like-minded individuals who genuinely care about the advancement of women in the world.
Finally, in terms of the parental consent law in Illinois, the idea of a law demanding parental consent on matters like abortion is a major hindrance in cases of violent crimes and incest. A woman’s body is her own, not the property of a guardian, or rapist. Therefore, when a young girl has the right to her own body taken from her, it should only be her choice whether she receives medical attention to being an expeditious end to a harrowing moment in her young life. This law is ultimately harmful to women and their bodies. When they are carrying the result of an unwanted pregnancy in their own body, it should be their choice, and their choice alone, including the choice of keeping it from their parents or guardian, if she receives an abortion.
Thank you very much.