Illinois Supreme Court issues abortion parental consent rules

The action could revive a law that has been on the books but not in effect.

By Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews staff. Oct. 16, 2006.

In a surprise move, the Illinois Supreme Court in September issued rules for implementing an abortion law that has sat on the shelf for 11 years. The statute requires physicians to notify a minor's parent or legal guardian at least 48 hours before performing the procedure.

Anti-abortion advocates say they want the state to pursue overturning a 1996 federal court order that blocks the law from taking effect. But the Illinois attorney general has not said whether she will take up the matter.

The Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 provides an exception to the notice requirement in cases of a medical emergency, or physical or sexual abuse by a parent. Doctors who do not act in "good faith" to obey the law would face a misdemeanor charge and be reported to the state medical board for disciplinary action.

The statute also allows young women to ask a court to bypass the notice requirement. The implementation delay revolves around this provision. The Illinois Legislature had asked the state Supreme Court to develop regulations that would ensure that the waiver provision was handled in an "expeditious manner."

But the high court at the time refused to create the rules, saying they were not necessary to implement the law. The court's rejection led to the federal injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Feb. 9, 1996. Without the regulations, the act "remains incomplete and cannot be implemented," Judge Paul E. Plunkett found.