July 11, 2013 (JillStanek.com) – Today, in a unanimous ruling, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision to uphold a parental notification law enacted way back in 1995.
This is fabulous news, since Illinois has become known as the abortion dumping ground of the Midwest – the only state without any parental involvement law in force, while all surrounding states have such measures.
Thomas More Society, the pro-life legal team based in Illinois that has been pushing enforcement of this law, has posted a synopsis of this incredibly drawn out court battle.
The ACLU was the first to sue to block the law, later joined by the giant Hope Clinic abortion mill in Granite City – conveniently located close to the Missouri border.
Click “like” if you want to end abortion!
The Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 is scheduled to go into effect in 35 days. It isn’t perfect. It allows for notification of not only one parent but also “a person over 21 years of age who is the parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household, or legal guardian.” In the law a minor is considered anyone under 18.
This looser verbiage caused a huge rift in the pro-life movement at the time, which still comes up in conversations. But it is still way better than nothing.
Of course, Planned Parenthood, which has 17 locations in Illinois, is unhappy. From The Chicago Sun-Times:
“We are disappointed by the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995,” said Carol Brite, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “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.”
In 2011, 2,359 of the state’s 41,324 abortions were of minors 17 and under. There were 3,139 out-of-state abortions (age unknown). Both those numbers should now go down.
This article originally appeared on JillStanek.com and is reprinted with permission.