Illinois Teens: Can't Win for LosingOn Monday, a Cook County Circuit Court judge dismissed the ACLU's challenge to the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act; a law that prevents teens from having an abortion unless they notify a parent or go to court. We are obviously tremendously disappointed in the decision. For what it's worth, the judge didn't seem too happy about it either. Calling the law a "clear infringement" of a young woman's constitutional rights, the judge agreed with us that the law would subject many teenagers, particularly those who come from dysfunctional families, to physical and emotional abuse. In fact, the judge found the testimony we submitted — from experts around the country — that the law would jeopardize the health and safety of the most vulnerable teens to be "compelling." Unfortunately, the judge also believed that he had to rule against us on technical grounds — because we could not prove that every single teenager that will ever seek an abortion in the state of Illinois will suffer these horrible consequences. Of course we can't. When faced with a pregnancy, most teens do talk to a parent. But we did not bring this lawsuit on behalf of those teens. Not all homes are safe homes. Not all parents are good parents; some are abusive or violent and would threaten their daughter's health and safety if she told them she was pregnant. And we disagree with the judge that the Illinois Constitution does not protect the health and safety of these teens. We are reviewing all of our options, including an appeal. For the moment, however, what is most important is that, despite the decision, this dangerous law will not go into effect immediately. If our daughters can't come to us for whatever reason, the most important thing is that they are safe and get the care that they need, and, for now, they still can. — Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Staff Attorney, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, and Colleen Connell, Executive Director, ACLU of Illinois
We intend the comments portion of this blog to be a forum where you can freely express your views on blog postings and on comments made by other people. Given that, please understand that you are responsible for the material you post on the comments portion of this blog. The only postings that we ask that you refrain from posting and that we cannot permit on our website are requests for legal assistance and postings that could cause ACLU to incur legal liability.
One important law in that regard is the prohibition on politically partisan activity. Given our nonprofit status, we may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office. That means we cannot host comments on our site that show a preference for one candidate or party. Although we in no way wish to discourage you from that activity elsewhere, we ask that you not engage in that activity on our website (or include links to other websites that do so). Additionally, given that we are subject to very specific rules concerning the collection of personally identifying information through our website (names, email addresses, home address, financial information, etc.), we ask that you not use the comments portion of this blog to solicit this information from users of our website. We also ask that you not use the comments portion for advertising or requests for legal assistance, and do not add to your comment links to other websites, as we cannot be responsible for the content on other websites. We are not able to respond to unsolicited inquiries, complaints or requests for assistance sent to this blog. Please direct your complaint or request for assistance to the ACLU affiliate in your state. Requests for legal assistance left in the blog comments will not receive a response or be published. Finally, the ACLU cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in the comment section and expressly disclaims any liability for any information in this section. 1 Response to "Illinois Teens: Can't Win for Losing" |
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 |
Apr 1st, 2010 at 3:56pm
What next for this idiot on the bench,will he next rule against the laws
on rape if it can't be proven that all women will be raped.