Summary

In a 5-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a law requiring physicians to notify a parent or legal guardian before performing an abortion on a young woman.

Plaintiffs in this case included North Florida Women’s Health and Counseling Services, Inc., along with 9 abortion providers and clinics, as well as women’s rights groups from across Florida. They were represented by Bebe Anderson of the Center for Reproductive Rights, Richard E. Johnson of Tallahassee, and Dara Klassel of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

About the case and rulings

Parental consent laws force physicians to receive consent from a minor’s parent or legal guardian before performing an abortion. Parental notification laws require physicians to notify a minor’s parent or legal guardian before performing an abortion. Laws that restrict minors’ access to abortion, whether by parental consent or notice, harm young women’s health and violate their constitutional rights.

Parental notification and consent laws do not further family communications and only hurt minors. In families where abusive relationships or other problems prevent good communication between parents and their teenage daughters, state-mandated discussions can exacerbate existing problems. For battered teenagers and incest survivors in particular, mandatory parental involvement laws increase the risks in an already dangerous situation.

Furthermore, the extensive evidence presented in this case showed that, even without state-mandated parental notification, most minors, especially younger minors, tell at least one parent of the planned abortion. Of those minors who don’t involve a parent, many voluntarily involve another adult, such as a grandparent or older sibling.

Over 10 years ago, Florida’s Supreme Court found a parental consent law unconstitutional. The Center then brought a case to strike down a parental notice law as well.

Circuit Court Judge Terry P. Lewis ruled that the parental notice law was unconstitutional in May 2000, finding that it did not serve a compelling state interest and that it violated the explicit privacy clause in Florida’s constitution, which allows young women the same right to privacy as adult women.

In February 2001, the First District Court of Appeal found the parental notification law valid under the Florida Constitution, ignoring strong evidence presented at the trial court level attesting to the harmful impact the law would have on minors.

Amicus briefs were filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by the American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, Society for Adolescent Medicine, and the Women’s Law Project.

The case then advanced to the Florida Supreme Court. In a 5-1 decision, the court struck down the parental notification law, no longer requiring physicians to notify a parent or legal guardian before performing an abortion on a young woman.