Missouri tries to apply abortion consent law in other states

The statute is unclear on what doctors or other counselors may say when advising teens about abortion, a lawsuit charges.

By Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews staff. Jan. 30, 2006.

Missouri is taking aim at Illinois with an unprecedented abortion law that allows lawsuits against anyone who assists a minor in obtaining an abortion without parental consent -- including out-of-state doctors.

Abortion rights groups and anti-abortion groups agree on at least one thing -- Illinois is the target because it doesn't have a parental consent law.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Sept. 15, 2005, the day the law was signed by Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, challenging its constitutionality. Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles Atwell declined to rule the law unconstitutional but put the liability provision on hold in November 2005, pending a Missouri Supreme Court decision. No date has been set for oral arguments.

Depending on how the high court rules, Illinois doctors ultimately could be held liable for actions taken while the provision is on hold. The Hope Clinic, which advertises on its Web site to be 10 minutes from St. Louis, is trying to protect itself from legal trouble from Missouri.

Meanwhile, every state surrounding Illinois also has parental consent or notification laws, and it is unclear if they will follow Missouri's lead.

Anti-abortion groups support Missouri's approach. But abortion rights organizations and officials at the Hope Clinic, in Granite City, Ill., oppose it.

"It's pretty outrageous," said Sally Burgess, the clinic's executive director. "How can another state reach in and not honor your laws?"

Burgess said the law places an unnecessary burden on the clinic, where a majority of teens seeking abortions already have their parents involved. But she added that some teenagers cannot go to their parents for fear of being beaten or kicked out of the house, so they seek counsel from a relative or a doctor.