Parental Notice of Abortion Act Upheld by Illinois Supreme Court
Today, in the case of The Hope Clinic for Women, Ltd. v. Flores the Illinois Supreme Court issued an opinion upholding the constitutionality of a law called the "Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995". With some exceptions, that law prohibits a doctor from performing an abortion on a minor unless an adult family member is first given notice. The decision make clear that Illinois law certainly recognizes the right to an abortion. It is also clear that the protections under Illinois law are the same as those provided by federal law under the "due process" clause of the US Constitution. The problem here came in not as a due process issue but as a privacy issue. The court had to wrestle with the issue of whether the notice provision of the Act violates privacy rights. Specifically, does it interfere with a minor’s right to keep medical information confidential? Here the Court basically stated that while the notice provision may interfere with that right, suc