Florida Supreme Court rules parental consent law unconstitutional

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thu, Jul. 10, 2003
Florida Supreme Court rules parental consent law unconstitutional

BY MAYA BELL
The Orlando Sentinel

MIAMI - (KRT) - The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a state law requiring doctors to notify a parent or guardian before performing an abortion on a minor, reaffirming the right to privacy even for Florida's children.

In its 5-1 ruling, the high court said the 1999 law, which has never been enforced pending court challenges, unconstitutionally restricted a pregnant girl's right to keep private her decision to have an abortion.

That is not to say, Justice Leander Shaw wrote for the majority, that the court's decision interferes with a parent's right to participate in the decision-making process or a minor's right to consult with her parents.

"Just the opposite," the ruling states. "Under our decision, parent and minor are free to do as they wish in this regard, without government interference."

The ruling, immediately hailed by abortion-rights advocates and condemned by abortion foes, lays the groundwork for yet another battle about the same issue in the Florida Legislature. Lawmakers passed the notification requirement after the high court struck down a similar but more restrictive one requiring parental consent for a minor's abortion in 1989. (snip/...)

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/breaking_news/6276880.htm

Story on this from the N.Y. Times (free registration required):

(snip) Florida Court Voids a Law on Abortion
By ADAM LIPTAK


he Florida Supreme Court yesterday struck down a law requiring minors seeking abortions to notify their parents first. The court, in a 5-to-1 decision, held that the law violated the minors' right to privacy.

The Florida law, enacted in 1999 but never enforced, required minors to give parents 48 hours' notice of their decisions. In the alternative, minors could try to convince a judge that they were mature enough to decide for themselves or, if that failed, that the abortion was nevertheless in their best interest.

The court decided the case under Florida's Constitution, which is one of the handful of state constitutions with an explicit right-to-privacy clause. Applying the federal Constitution, the United States Supreme Court has upheld similar notification requirements.

In enacting the notification law, the Florida Legislature said that "the capacity to become pregnant and the capacity for mature judgment concerning the wisdom of an abortion are not necessarily related." (snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/11/national/11FLOR.html

[David Zephyr]

1. Kick.

Good News.

[VolcanoJen]

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