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Corpus Christi Caller-Times Abortion notification law takes effect
Texas parents will be informed of their daughters’ intention to have an abortion
by Anna M. Tinsley Scripps Howard Austin Bureau AUSTIN – Starting today [January 1, 2000], Texas parents will be told if their daughters age 17 and younger are trying to get abortions. And they’ll have 48 hours to talk to them about it. The law, known as parental notification, went into effect Sept. 1 but applies only to abortions performed after Jan. 1. Lawmakers delayed implementing it to give state and court officials the time to write rules to govern the process. Parental notification is one of 23 new laws that go into effect today and is among the most controversial, emotional legislation approved by the Legislature in 1999. Under the law, a doctor must notify parents through registered mail or phone that their unmarried daughter, 17 and younger, is seeking an abortion. The doctor must then wait 48 hours before performing the procedure, except in a medical emergency. The bill does not require the parents’ consent. Opponents of the parental notification law say it could lead to the deaths of untold numbers of Texas girls because they might seek illegal abortions. But supporters say it will save a number of babies’ lives and make teens more sexually responsible. "Anybody who’s concerned about teen pregnancies should be happy to see a program … that will result in a significant drop in teen pregnancies," said Bill Price, president of the Dallas-based Texans United for Life. "Teenagers are going to become much more responsible sexually when they realize how much more difficult it’s going to be to access abortions as birth control." But opponents of this new law say anything that puts roadblocks in a woman’s way to getting an abortion can place some people in desperate situations. Girls who don’t want their parents notified have the option of bypassing them and going to a judge instead. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a "judicial bypass" must be included in parental notification laws. It’s designed mostly to protect girls who have been sexually abused at home. To conceal the girl’s identity, Texas law says that everything about the proceeding, including the judge’s name and decision, must be kept confidential. The judge would have two business days to decide whether the minor is mature enough to understand and make the abortion decision without her parents. The Supreme Court held public hearings and took much public comment before approving rules to govern the bypass proceedings. The rules would require courts to give preference to a girl’s requested bypass over other pending cases and mandate strict confidentiality for girls seeking the bypass. A judge would have to appoint an attorney to represent the girl. As required by the Legislature, the judge would have to issue a ruling on the request by the end of the second business day after the request was filed. There also will be procedures developed that will let girls appeal when a judge denies the requested parental-notification bypass. Some lawyers and judges argue that the judicial bypass rules violate the Texas Constitution’s ban on closed court proceedings. And they say the secrecy provision may end up in a lawsuit with people challenging the confidentiality clause.
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