Denver, Colo., Aug 15, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Pro-life supporters are upset that judges are granting girls permission to bypass a new parental-notification law and to avoid notifying their parents before having an abortion.
Colorado’s new parental-notification law orders doctors to notify a minor’s parents before performing an abortion. However, since that new law was enacted nine months ago, several girls have asked for a judge's permission to bypass that requirement. None of these girls’ requests were refused, reported The Associated Press.
The bypass-approval rate suggests that bypass requests are simply rubber-stamped by judges, Mary Spaulding Balch of the National Right to Life Committee, told the AP.
Judges deny that requests are simply rubber-stamped. They say decisions are based on an interview with girls about their knowledge of the consequences of abortion, their mental health and their family situations.