News

CHICAGO, November 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Local lawyers have turned up the pressure in support of the long-delayed enforcement of Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act with an amicus curiae brief filed Thursday.

Thomas More Society attorneys filed a “friend of the court” brief in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of a bipartisan group of 13 Illinois State’s Attorneys, urging the rejection of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) latest attack on the Act’s constitutionality. The ACLU contends that the Act violates the privacy, due process and equal protection guarantees in the Illinois Constitution of 1970.

The parental notice law requires an abortion doctor to notify a parent, grandparent, stepparent living in the household or legal guardian before performing an abortion on a minor, unless the minor states in writing that she is a victim of abuse or secures a confidential “judicial bypass.”

Although the Illinois General Assembly enacted the current parental notice law on a bipartisan basis more than 15 years ago, the law has not gone into effect because of the ACLU’s federal and state court challenges. Though upheld by a Cook County judge, the law’s enforcement was still “stayed” by agreement of the ACLU and Attorney General, pending a final ruling on the ACLU’s appeal.

Illinois is the Midwest’s only state without a parental notice or consent law in effect.

“We are thrilled that so many county prosecutors throughout Illinois support a parent’s right to know before a minor is taken for an abortion,” said Peter Breen, executive director and legal counsel at the Thomas More Society. “It’s long past time for Illinois to protect its daughters from ‘secret’ abortions by affirming the right of parents to be involved in their children’s medical decisions.”

The amicus brief argues that the Illinois Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, and points out that numerous other federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have repeatedly upheld parental notice as constitutional. It also points out that the Illinois General Assembly properly found that parental consultation prior to an abortion promotes legitimate state interests.