Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Fake "Parental Notification" Law May Be Resurrected
9/19/6 - Front page news in the Chicago Tribune today is that the Illinois Supreme Court has finally decided to consider doing what a law sponsored by two local legislators asked 11 years ago.
The 1995 bill asked the Illinois Supreme Court to set rules for special circumstances.
McHenry County’s former State Rep. Ann Hughes, a pro-choice Republican from Woodstock, and pro-life State Rep. Terry Parke (R-Hoffman Estates) negotiated the bill, the weaker of two that passed the General Assembly that one session when Lee Daniels was House Speaker.
The Associated Press story in the Daily Herald reports that the 1995 bill labeled a “parental notice” bill by proponents may be “resurrected.”
Jim Edgar was governor who signed the bill and we know Edgar was not particularly pro-life.
There was a stronger bill that passed, but Edgar vetoed the “better” bill.
All states surrounding Illinois have parental notification laws, so Illinois is clearly out of step with the Midwest. New York appears to be the nearest state.
Presumably its justices would be wise enough to draft them skillfully enough to avoid Federal court rejection.
But in 1996 Illinois judges refused to act, effectively killing the bill.
Now, 10 years later, Illinois Chief Justice Bob Thomas has initiated action to revisit his predecessors’ rejection.
Thomas probably won the Republican primary election because the Chicago Tribune plastered his pro-life views across the top of its paper the Saturday before the March primary election. There was even a follow-up editorial entitled, “Free Speech for Judicial Candidates.”
Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Joe Birkett, among other pro-lifers, urged the Court to take another look at writing rules
Tomorrow, my arguments against the bill on the House floor in 1995, where I gave ten reasons for House Bill 955 to be called a "parental avoidance bill."
= = = = =
The map is from Wikipedia. Pink shows where girls can get an abortion without telling their parents.
For more McHenry County Blog, click here.
The 1995 bill asked the Illinois Supreme Court to set rules for special circumstances.
McHenry County’s former State Rep. Ann Hughes, a pro-choice Republican from Woodstock, and pro-life State Rep. Terry Parke (R-Hoffman Estates) negotiated the bill, the weaker of two that passed the General Assembly that one session when Lee Daniels was House Speaker.
The Associated Press story in the Daily Herald reports that the 1995 bill labeled a “parental notice” bill by proponents may be “resurrected.”
Jim Edgar was governor who signed the bill and we know Edgar was not particularly pro-life.
There was a stronger bill that passed, but Edgar vetoed the “better” bill.
All states surrounding Illinois have parental notification laws, so Illinois is clearly out of step with the Midwest. New York appears to be the nearest state.Presumably its justices would be wise enough to draft them skillfully enough to avoid Federal court rejection.
But in 1996 Illinois judges refused to act, effectively killing the bill.
Now, 10 years later, Illinois Chief Justice Bob Thomas has initiated action to revisit his predecessors’ rejection.
Thomas probably won the Republican primary election because the Chicago Tribune plastered his pro-life views across the top of its paper the Saturday before the March primary election. There was even a follow-up editorial entitled, “Free Speech for Judicial Candidates.”
Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Joe Birkett, among other pro-lifers, urged the Court to take another look at writing rules
Tomorrow, my arguments against the bill on the House floor in 1995, where I gave ten reasons for House Bill 955 to be called a "parental avoidance bill."
= = = = =
The map is from Wikipedia. Pink shows where girls can get an abortion without telling their parents.
For more McHenry County Blog, click here.
