Teen rights to abortion in dispute
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Last March, a pregnant teenager three months shy of her 18th birthday asked an Allegheny County judge if she could have an abortion without her parents' consent.
Judge Philip Ignelzi said no.
His denial launched a legal battle in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that could change a state law that has allowed teenagers to obtain abortions without their parents' permission since it took effect in 1983.
The Abortion Control Act allows a minor whose parents won't approve an abortion to ask a judge for permission by filing a "bypass petition" -- meaning she bypasses her parents.
The high court's decision to review the case, including whether the law requires parental consent, has galvanized groups on both sides of the abortion issue.
It also has prompted a petition from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and several other media companies to make the court decision public.
The law requires records of all bypass petitions to be closed to protect the identity of the minor. But the news organizations' petition, filed Thursday, asks for this "Jane Doe" case to be opened -- with the teen's name redacted -- because it could set a legal precedent.
Denials of bypass petitions are rare, and the teenager's lawyer had asked Judge Ignelzi, of the Family Division of Common Pleas Court, to remove himself from the case because he had been endorsed by anti-abortion groups when he ran for judge in 2009.
The judge refused and the case was appealed to state Superior Court, which upheld Judge Ignelzi.
Now the stage is set for a fight over the issue of a teenager's reproductive rights. And, in an unusual move, the Supreme Court has decided to examine the topic of parental consent even though the teenager's lawyer did not raise it in his appeal.
Civil liberties advocates say the bypass provision is essential to protecting a teenager's rights, but anti-abortion groups and some state lawmakers want it amended, contending it allows teenagers to have what they call "secret abortions."
Three anti-abortion groups -- The Pennsylvania Family Institute, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance Defense Fund -- filed a Supreme Court brief in December arguing that the law requires parental consent. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai and 68 other Pennsylvania legislators also signed the brief. Mr. Turzai did not respond to requests for comment.
In opposing briefs, the American Civil Liberties Union and the state attorney general's office say the law clearly does not require parental consent because the purpose of the bypass provision is to give teenagers an option if their parents say no.
First Published February 18, 2011 12:00 am
