WASHINGTON, DC (CWN) – The US Supreme Court decided in an 8-1 vote on Monday not to consider an appeal of a lower court order that declared a Louisiana abortion parental-consent law unconstitutional.
The lower court ruling, upheld by the Supreme Court’s decision not to take action, said the 1995 law would make it too difficult for some underage girls to obtain abortions without having a parent’s permission. Under the law, girls could ask a trial judge to give permission in the absence of parental consent, but the courts said the law made it too easy for judges to reject the girls’ efforts to make the decision to kill their unborn children on their own.
Before the 1995 law, Louisiana said the judge “shall” authorize abortions without telling the parents when the girl’s maturity or best interests are argued and proved in her favor. The new law said judges “may” authorize such abortions in those cases. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Justice Antonin Scalia.