News

By Gudrun Schultz

CHICAGO, Illinois, October 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Efforts to bypass a parental notification law, preventing minor girls from obtaining an abortion without their parents knowledge, are fueled by the Illinois abortion industry with no regard for parental rights or the good of the child, the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) has charged.

“There’s no compelling state interest to modify the existing law,” said David E. Smith, executive director of IFI, in a press release Wednesday. “This bill serves the interests of the radical abortion industry in Illinois—not girls nor the parents who love them.”

The measure proposed by State Rep. John Fritchey, entitled the “Adolescent Health Care Safety Act,” would sidestep parental notification obligations for minor girls seeking an abortion by authorizing any extended family member over the age of 18, including siblings, step-siblings, aunts and uncles, to act as authority for the girl. The Act would extend that authority to members of the clergy, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and physicians.

“HB 5840 should be called the Parents’ Rights Circumvention Act,” said Smith. “This bill gives unwarranted authority to strangers, thus blocking parental involvement in this critically important decision in a girl’s life. Politicians have no business intruding on the parent-child relationship.”

The Parental Notice of Abortion Act, passed by the General Assembly in 1995, would require a doctor to notify a parent, grandparent or legal guardian at least two days before a minor girl could obtain an abortion. At the time the Supreme Court refused to issue necessary rules governing minors seeking waivers of the requirement under special circumstances, and the law remained dormant.

Last month the Court released a short statement saying it would produce the necessary rules. The law is expected to take effect shortly.

Referring to the 2000 case of Troxel vs. Grandville, which says that “fit parents are presumed to act in the best interests of their children,” Smith said, “Bypassing parental authority should be allowed only when a parent has been found to be unfit or there has been an actual finding of abuse.”

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Illinois Supreme Court Re-instates Law Limiting Abortion Access
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06091902.html

Mother Arrested in Attempt to Save 14 Year-old Pregnant Daughter from Unwanted Abortion
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/mar/05032408.html