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California Parental Consent Law Struck Down

The California Supreme Court struck down the state’s parental consent law on Tuesday, August 5. Lawyers argued that the law, which required minors to obtain permission to get an abortion from either a parent or a judge, violated minors’ privacy rights. The court upheld the law last year but, with the departure of two judges supporting the law, agreed to reexamine the case this year. Members of the medical community, assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, had sued to have the law overturned. More than 20 other states have similar laws on the books, and a dozen more require parental notification. Federal courts have tended to uphold the constitutionality of such laws. In California, the 1987 law has not been enforced for the most part while tied up in court.

The California Supreme Court voted 4-3 against the parental consent law, citing a teenager’s right to privacy. “I would not go so far as to say that this will set a legal trend, but other states many look to the analysis that the California Supreme Court did here,” said Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. Antiabortion activists claim they will try to put the parental consent law in voters’ hands in 2000 as an amendment to the California state constitution.

Sources:

The Washington Post - August 7-6, 1997; The Nando Net - August 6, 1997

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