ACLJ Files Supreme Court Brief Asking High Court to Uphold Parental Notification Laws for Children Getting Abortions.

WASHINGTON -- The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), today filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States asking the high court to overturn a federal appeals court decision that declared unconstitutional a state law requiring parental notification before minors can get an abortion. The case involves a New Hampshire state law and urges the high court to permit states to prohibit secret abortions for children.

"Laws like this are extremely important for protecting vulnerable children against coercion, deception, and the damaging emotional and physical consequences of abortion," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which litigates pro-life issues. "The states must be able to step in and protect children - through the involvement of their parents - from shady abortion practices, from overbearing and pushy boyfriends, counselors, and employers, and from a major medical procedure that can significantly compromise the health and well-being of their children. To permit children to get abortions without parents being notified is not only legally flawed, but bad public policy. We are hopeful the high court will strongly reaffirm that parental notification laws enacted by states are proper and constitutional."

In its friend-of-the-court brief in support of the New Hampshire law, the ACLJ contends the Supreme Court has never held that all laws regulating the provision of abortions must contain a "health" exception - as the federal appeals court concluded. In fact, the ACLJ brief highlights the fact that the high court has rejected "health" exceptions in the past in the area of abortion funding and parental involvement laws. The brief contends that to require a "health" exception for parental notification laws "would be to make a shambles of existing abortion regulations." Further the ACLJ brief cites specific Congressional testimony from women who received secret abortions as children and whose testimony dramatically demonstrates that parental notification laws are needed and would play a vital role in the health and safety of children who are considering abortions.

"There are many serious downsides to the allowance of secret abortions for minors," the ACLJ brief concludes. The brief is posted online at www.aclj.org.

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the case for November 30th. The case is Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and is No. 04-1144.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the ACLJ specializes in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.