ACLU of Illinois - ACLU Insider - Archives - From the Chicago Tribune's Voice of the People: "Hope for a bill"

We are extremely disappointed that House Bill 317, the Adolescent Health Care Safety Act, was rejected recently by the Illinois House. House Bill 317 would have amended the punitive 1995 Parental Notification of Abortion Act by providing a young woman facing an unintended pregnancy with more options. The bill would have ensured that minors consult with a trusted adult before making a difficult decision about terminating or continuing her pregnancy and allowed teens - in those limited circumstances where they cannot tell a parent or another trusted adult family member - to get safe medical attention and quality counseling from caring health care professionals.

The approach captured in House Bill 317 was highly preferable to the old, outdated and dangerous 1995 law that was permanently enjoined in 1996 by the Federal court. Unfortunately, this old law may be resurrected after a decade as a result of the request by the Attorney General that the Federal court lift the injunction. This request came after the Illinois Supreme Court's sudden and unfortunate decision last October to write rules on the judicial bypass provision of that law.

Without the changes incorporated in House Bill 317, the 1995 law, allowing only for a judicial bypass instead of a counseling bypass, forces vulnerable young women into court rather than give them the opportunity to get the support and information they need from medical professionals. The 1995 law fails to ensure that our daughters get the safe medical attention and quality counseling they deserve. In short, it jeopardizes the health and safety of teens in our state.

Let us be very clear - the Circuit Court of Cook County is not ready to handle judicial bypass cases and we cannot fathom the intimidating process that teens would have to negotiate to obtain such a bypass. The 1995 law requires courts to handle petitions for judicial waiver with the utmost confidentiality and in an extremely expeditious manner. The current lack of procedures, staffing or resources in place interferes with the court's ability to properly and efficiently manage these requests. It disrupts an already burdened court system and costs us Cook County government dollars we simply don't have.

The failure to pass HB 317 and the potential enforcement of the 1995 Parental Notification of Abortion Act places the health and safety of teens at risk. In addition, unprepared courts face tremendous challenges to meet complicated requirements in a short period of time. We hope the Illinois General Assembly either comes to its senses and passes an alternative bill or that federal courts continue the injunction of this dangerous law.

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