High Court Strikes Down Challenge to Parental Notification Law

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday shot down a motion challenging a voter-approved measure requiring abortion clinics to tell parents when their minor daughter seeks abortions.

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, January 15, 2005

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday shot down a motion challenging a voter-approved measure requiring abortion clinics to tell parents when their minor daughter seeks abortions.

The state measure, passed with an overwhelming 65 percent of the votes last November, specified that the privacy rights of minors seeking abortions are limited under a law that requires parents to be told when their minor daughter’s considerations to abort.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood argued that the constitutional amendment should be thrown out because the court overstepped its authority last fall when it kept the ballot summary describing the amendment from going before the voters; two months before the election.

Last summer, the two groups filed a lawsuit saying the summary lawmakers wrote for the amendment was misleading and inaccurate. The state Supreme Court threw out the summary and ruled that the actual text of the amendment be placed before the voters.

According to AP, the high court said it will issue and opinion explaining its Thursday order at a later date. In Thursday's brief unsigned order, the court ordered that the motion filed Monday by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood "be stricken as unauthorized."