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Teen's Abortion Prompts Lawsuit

Teen's Abortion Prompts Lawsuit

Abortion notification guideline in question

Anne Doe was three months shy of her 18th birthday when she walked into St. Paul's Planned Parenthood clinic the day after Christmas 2002 and — unbeknownst to her parents — aborted her pregnancy.

Although state law generally requires clinics to notify parents before performing abortions on minors, Planned Parenthood didn't do so in Anne's case. The clinic considered Anne an adult under the law because she had previously had a baby.

But Anne's parents were upset to learn about the abortion after the fact. They sued Planned Parenthood for violating Minnesota's parental-notification law, seeking damages of more than $50,000.

Ramsey County District Judge David Higgs will weigh arguments today before deciding whether to dismiss the suit or allow it to proceed.

The suit could be another skirmish in the debate over parental-consent laws for minors seeking abortions. Minnesota is one of 44 states with either a parental consent or notification law on the books, according to Planned Parenthood.

"We provided a safe and legal abortion to a legal adult," said Marta Coursey, Planned Parenthood's director of marketing communications. "She supplied documentation, a birth certificate, that she is legally an adult able to make her own health care decisions, including having an abortion. This appears to be a very sad case of a breakdown of communication among family members. Clearly, she was a legal adult and wanted to make the decision alone without notifying her parents."

The parents filed suit using pseudonyms for themselves and their daughter. The parents' attorney, David Angell, declined to comment about the suit or reveal the identities of his clients who, according to court filings, live in New Ulm, Minn.

In court papers, the Does argue that Minnesota's parental-notification law does not explicitly exempt minors who have previously given birth.

Under Minnesota's notification law, first enacted in 1981 and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, "unemanicipated" minors need to notify both parents 48 hours before receiving an abortion or get a judge's permission. The statute does not define unemanicipated.

Planned Parenthood said they use a definition in a separate statute that states that any minor who has been married or has had a child "may give effective consent to personal medical, dental, and other health services, or to services for the minor's child, and the consent of no other person is required."

But Doe's parents argue that Minnesota courts have determined a child is emancipated, or is recognized as an adult, only on a case-by-case basis.

According to the Does, their daughter was financially dependent on them and still attending high school. They say they were involved in all aspects of her life, even though the 17-year-old had moved into her own apartment three months before the abortion.

"Neither Jane nor John Doe were informed of Anne's pregnancy that occurred in the winter of 2002/2003, nor were they involved in any decisions regarding the pregnancy," according to papers filed by the Does' attorney. "To the best of their knowledge, this is the only medical, dental or mental health issue about which they were not informed."

Leadership for Minnesota's oldest anti-abortion group — Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life — said Tuesday that they support parental-notification laws.

"The MCCL feels strongly that parental involvement laws work," said Bill Poehler, a spokesman for the organization. "The number of teen abortions last year was the lowest ever since abortion was legalized in 1973.

Poehler said they are aware of the Ramsey County case but were not involved in the suit.

The number of abortions in Minnesota in 2004 dropped to the lowest level in 30 years, according to a report published annually by the Minnesota Health Department. Minnesota doctors performed about 13,788 abortions last year. Five percent of the women undergoing the procedure were younger than the age of 18.


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Posted by Editor at September 21, 2005 08:38 AM