What’s Planned Parenthood’s next move after abortion notification ruling?
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is weighing options to appeal a federal judge’s decision to lift an injunction that will allow a 40-year-old law to take effect and require the parental notification of minors seeking an abortion, according to a spokesperson.
While considering its options, the health care provider, which covers parts of California and Nevada, is also preparing for the law’s implementation April 30, according to Andrew Adams, chief of staff and head of strategic communications for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is the latest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the United States with 34 locations in Nevada and mid-California.
Adams said one challenge is that the law is vague and gives little guidance to physicians who must follow it. Before an abortion can be performed, the law requires physicians to “personally” notify a minor’s parent or guardian, he said. The law doesn’t say how the notification must take place, or how much time must elapse before sending a letter to the parent or guardian, Adams said in an email.
A federal judge ruled Monday that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to an abortion, there is no longer a legal basis that allowed a longstanding injunction to prevent a 1985 parental notification law from going into effect.
The law, passed in 1985, states that a physician shall not perform an abortion on an unmarried and unemancipated woman who is under 18 unless a parent or guardian is personally notified.
If the parent cannot be notified after a “reasonable effort,” the physician shall delay performing the abortion until the physician has notified them by certified mail at their last known address.
Consent from a parent for the procedure is not required.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
