Published: November 05, 2009 08:25 am      

Vote clears way for Ill. abortion notification law

CHICAGO — Illinois was cleared Wednesday to start enforcing a long-debated parental notification law for teens seeking abortions, after more than a decade of legal challenges.

The state’s Medical Disciplinary Board voted not to extend a 90-day grace period put into place in August. That means the law takes effect, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said.

Illinois’ law was passed in 1995, but never enforced because of various court actions. Thirty-five other states have similar laws, which meant some teens seeking abortions came to Illinois for them.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois planned to ask a Cook County judge on Wednesday for a temporary restraining order to keep the state from enforcing the law.

“What we’re focused on now is protecting the health and well being of young women across the state of Illinois,” spokesman Ed Yohnka said.

Peter Breen, executive director of the Chicago-based Thomas Moore Society Pro-Life Law Center, said the group was “heartened” by the board’s decision. Teenagers from surrounding states were skirting their own states’ laws “on a pretty regular basis” by coming to Illinois to get abortions, Breen said.

“It’s about parents and kids talking,” Breen said. “No one should be against this.”

The law requires doctors to notify the parents or guardians of girls 17 or younger 48 hours before the teens get abortions. It requires no notice in a medical emergency or in cases of sexual abuse, and a provision allows girls to bypass parental notification by going to a judge.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois has been providing notification since August, spokeswoman Beth Kanter said. If a teen said she wasn’t comfortable letting a parent or guardian know, Planned Parenthood has been referring her to another health care provider who was using the grace period, Kanter said. That will now change, she said.

“We believe that government cannot and should not mandate this communication,” Kanter said. “Most teens do seek their parents’ advice and counsel ... but in some cases safe and open communication isn’t possible.”

The Parental Notice of Abortion Act was not enforced because the Illinois Supreme Court refused to issue rules spelling out how judges should handle appeals of the notification requirement. The Illinois Supreme Court issued those rules in 2006.

But last year, a federal judge again refused to allow enforcement, saying the law still failed to give teenagers workable judicial options to notifying her parents. In July, a federal appeals court lifted the injunction on the 1995 version. Then in August, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation granted doctors a 90-day grace period before the law would go into effect.

Medical Disciplinary Board attorney Daniel Kelber told members before the vote that courts in a majority of Illinois counties were not prepared to handle the judicial provision. Some board members said they were disappointed in the courts for not being ready.

“I see a failure of the court,” board member Dr. Maria LaPorta said.