Planned Parenthood Of Alaska, Teacher File Suit To Block Parental Notification Initiative

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 05 Aug 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Planned Parenthood of Alaska and an Anchorage high school teacher filed a lawsuit in Anchorage Superior Court on Friday to block a voter initiative that would make it illegal for minors younger than age 18 to obtain abortion services without parental notification, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Supporters of the initiative, which was certified on July 2, must gather nearly 33,000 signatures in order for it to be put on the ballot in August 2010.

The lawsuit claims that the initiative should not have been certified because of what the newspaper termed "legal technicalities" and because the ballot description of its impact is misleading. According to legal documents filed by Planned Parenthood and teacher Susan Wingrove, the language of the initiative indicates that minor changes would be made to an existing law "rather than making clear that the initiative is abolishing rights currently afforded to the citizens of Alaska who are minors." They also claim that the initiative does not make it clear that violations of the law would be a felony and that it would be the responsibility of the physician to inform parents.

Previous attempts to enact parental notification and consent laws have failed in Alaska. The Alaska Parental Consent Act, which was approved in 1997, said that parental notification or approval from a judge was necessary before a minor could obtain an abortion. Legal challenges prevented the act from going into effect, and the Alaska Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that the law was unconstitutional. In addition, a bill that would have required girls younger than age 17 to notify a parent failed to make it through the state Legislature this year.

Former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman (R), a supporter of the new initiative, called Planned Parenthood of Alaska and the teacher "desperate," adding that they "would deny the people of Alaska the opportunity to participate in the initiative process" (Holland, Anchorage Daily News, 7/31).

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