A federal appeals court upheld a block Tuesday on an Indiana law that requires underage girls to inform their parents before having an abortion.
A Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals panel allowed the block to remain in place, rejecting an appeal from the state that asked to be allowed to enforce the law, the AP reports.
The law, which passed in 2017, strengthens current Indiana laws regarding parental rights by requiring abortion providers to obtain proof of consent from a parent or legal guardian before a girl under 18 has an abortion. It gives parents/legal guardians a civil recourse if someone fraudulently poses as a parent in order for a minor girl to get an abortion. It also makes sure parents are involved if a minor appears before a judge to request an abortion without her parents’ consent.
filed a lawsuit challenging the parental consent law the same year. Their lawyers argued that abortion clinics should be allowed to perform abortions on young girls without their parents’ knowledge. A lower court later issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law.
The Seventh Circuit judges agreed with the injunction this week.
“The State has not yet come forward with evidence showing that there is a problem for the new parental notice requirement to solve, let alone that the law would reasonably be expected to solve it,” Judge David Hamilton wrote in his decision, WBAA News reports.
Federal Court Rules Parents Don’t Have a Right to Know When Their Daughters are Considering an Abortion
A Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals panel allowed the block to remain in place, rejecting an appeal from the state that asked to be allowed to enforce the law, the AP reports.
The law, which passed in 2017, strengthens current Indiana laws regarding parental rights by requiring abortion providers to obtain proof of consent from a parent or legal guardian before a girl under 18 has an abortion. It gives parents/legal guardians a civil recourse if someone fraudulently poses as a parent in order for a minor girl to get an abortion. It also makes sure parents are involved if a minor appears before a judge to request an abortion without her parents’ consent.
filed a lawsuit challenging the parental consent law the same year. Their lawyers argued that abortion clinics should be allowed to perform abortions on young girls without their parents’ knowledge. A lower court later issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law.
The Seventh Circuit judges agreed with the injunction this week.
“The State has not yet come forward with evidence showing that there is a problem for the new parental notice requirement to solve, let alone that the law would reasonably be expected to solve it,” Judge David Hamilton wrote in his decision, WBAA News reports.
Federal Court Rules Parents Don’t Have a Right to Know When Their Daughters are Considering an Abortion
