Chicago, Ill., Nov 5, 2009 / 04:20 am
In what one pro-life advocate called a “great victory” for families, a Wednesday vote by the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board has cleared the way for the state to begin enforcement of a 1995 law requiring parental notification for underage girls who seek abortions.
Board members declined to extend a grace period put in place by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The law requires doctors to notify the parents or guardians of girls 17 or younger before the teens undergo abortions. The law does not require parental consent, but requires 48 hours notice before an abortion. Similar laws are in effect in 35 other states.
The law requires no notice in a medical emergency or in cases of sexual abuse. A provision allows girls to bypass parental notification by going to a judge.