n">(Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday sued to block a recently enacted Alabama law requiring special court hearings for girls seeking legal abortions without parental consent.
Under the law, which took effect in July, underage females seeking abortions in the state without parental approval are subject to hearings where prosecutors represent the state and judges can appoint advocates for their fetuses.
While 26 states require parental consent for girls seeking abortions, no other state has a law similar to Alabama's, the ACLU said.
"Forcing a teen to go on trial to get an abortion doesn't make her any safer, and doesn't bring families together," said Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, in a statement. "It just puts her at risk and could lead her to seek an illegal, unsafe abortion."
The law is not intended to create an undue burden on abortion rights but "to protect the state's policy to protect unborn life," according to the language of the statute.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Montgomery, seeks to have the law blocked and ruled unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that girls seeking abortions who are unable or unwilling to get parental consent as required under state law be granted access to a confidential and expeditious "judicial bypass."
In other states, that takes the form of a meeting between the girl and a judge, with standards for granting permission for the abortion varying by state, the ACLU said.
Under Alabama's law, prosecutors, the fetus's advocate and the girl's parents - if they are aware of her desire to seek an abortion - can call witnesses at her hearing.
The judge's ruling under the law is subject to appeal.
"This law flies in the face of what the Supreme Court has said is required," Dalven said.
The Alabama Attorney General, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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Under the law, which took effect in July, underage females seeking abortions in the state without parental approval are subject to hearings where prosecutors represent the state and judges can appoint advocates for their fetuses.
While 26 states require parental consent for girls seeking abortions, no other state has a law similar to Alabama's, the ACLU said.
"Forcing a teen to go on trial to get an abortion doesn't make her any safer, and doesn't bring families together," said Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, in a statement. "It just puts her at risk and could lead her to seek an illegal, unsafe abortion."
The law is not intended to create an undue burden on abortion rights but "to protect the state's policy to protect unborn life," according to the language of the statute.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Montgomery, seeks to have the law blocked and ruled unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that girls seeking abortions who are unable or unwilling to get parental consent as required under state law be granted access to a confidential and expeditious "judicial bypass."
In other states, that takes the form of a meeting between the girl and a judge, with standards for granting permission for the abortion varying by state, the ACLU said.
Under Alabama's law, prosecutors, the fetus's advocate and the girl's parents - if they are aware of her desire to seek an abortion - can call witnesses at her hearing.
The judge's ruling under the law is subject to appeal.
"This law flies in the face of what the Supreme Court has said is required," Dalven said.
The Alabama Attorney General, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans; Editing by Eric Walsh)
For all the outrage over NFL players' behavior, the league's TV ratings are rising steadily. What this tells us about U.S. attitudes toward corporal punishment. Full Article
View the original article here
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