NH Minor Abortion Law Struck Down

[Timber Loftis]

Are you seriously telling me a state can outlaw sex by a minor, outlaw smoking by a minor, outlaw drinking by a minor, and outlaw driving by a minor, but can't require a minor to get parental consent for an abortion? Crazy Land, man, Crazy Land. Roe v. Wade said a state could not make abortion illegal, it did not say there is an absolute right to have an abortion and that no laws may place requirements on getting an abortion.

Simply put, I think they'll just go back to the legislature and add a health exception. But, with the judicial discretion provided, I don't see how it changes the reality.
__________________________________________________ ___________

Ruling Blocks a State Law on Abortion
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CONCORD, N.H., Dec. 29 (AP) — A federal judge on Monday declared unconstitutional a state law that required notice to parents before a minor could get an abortion.

The ruling came two days before the law was to take effect.

The law's supporters said they would either appeal or rewrite the law to make it constitutional.

The law required abortion providers to notify a parent at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor. The parent would not have had to approve the abortion.

A girl could instead ask a judge for permission, which would be granted if the girl was mature enough or the abortion was found to be in her best interest.

The judge, Joseph A. DiClerico Jr. of Federal District Court here, said the measure did not adequately address cases in which a girl might need an immediate abortion to protect her health.

A provision allowing abortions without parental notice when the girl's life is in danger was too narrow, Judge DiClerico found.

"We won," said Martin Honigberg, a lawyer for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which along with other opponents had sued to block the law.

Gov. Craig Benson, a Republican, and other supporters of the measure said they would appeal the decision or revise the law. "I believe it is the responsibility of parents, not the government, to raise their children," Mr. Benson said. "I will work with the Legislature to construct a parental notification law that will withstand judicial scrutiny."

A spokesman for Mr. Benson said the governor had not ruled out appealing the decision.

The New Hampshire attorney general, Peter Heed, will decide whether to appeal after consulting with legislative leaders and Mr. Benson, said Daniel Mullen, an associate attorney general.

Similar laws without health exceptions have been struck down in other states.

Over the summer, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a version in that state, saying the law violated privacy rights guaranteed by the Florida Constitution.

A federal appeals court in Denver ruled last year that a similar Colorado law was unconstitutional because it provided no exceptions for health emergencies.

The law was hotly debated this spring in the New Hampshire Legislature, where supporters presented it as a parental rights issue. Opponents viewed it as an effort to chip away at abortion rights. The law was the state's only significant restriction on abortion since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Modifying the law might be politically difficult. But it would not be technically difficult to add a health exception, Mr. Honigberg said. Many states have such provisions.

"There are certainly plenty of models out there," he said.

Yeah wacky is one word for it...

I also like how the fact that child molestation is being covered up by the pro-abortion rules, regulations and laws. A 13 year old pregnant to a 40 year old doesn't need parental consent to get an abortion....no can't have the little girls right to sex and abortions clogged up by silly things like laws about underage minors and the like....sheesh

[ 12-30-2003, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[khazadman]

Once again the federal courts have stepped over the line. the entire federal system needs to be cleansed of these activist judges.