Activist Court: Ohio Abortion Law "Too Restrictive"

(Hat tip: Rich Leonardi)

The 6th Circuit says that Ohio's parental-consent rule limits access to courts for minors:

An Ohio abortion law is too restrictive because it gives young women only one chance in court to avoid getting their parents' consent for the procedure, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals also upheld a provision of the law that required all women to meet face to face with a doctor at least 24 hours before getting an abortion.

The decision resolves two of the most contentious issues surrounding a law that has been the focus of an eight-year battle in federal court.

The court's ruling on the parental-consent requirement was a victory for abortion-rights advocates, who said it unfairly limited access to the courts for minors.

The appeals court judges said the rule was unconstitutional because it gave women under 18 just one chance to convince a judge that they shouldn't have to tell their parents before getting an abortion.

A second chance might be appropriate if the young women are mature enough to better understand the procedure or if they develop a medical condition that makes abortion necessary, the appeals court ruled.

"Ohio's law preventing more than one petition per procedure acts as a substantial obstacle to a woman's right to an abortion," wrote Judge R. Guy Cole, who was joined in the decision by judges Julia Smith Gibbons and John Rogers.

[More]

My Comments:
Methinks it's not access to courts that they're really worried about. Can't have mommy and daddy standing in the way of their daughter's access to the all-important right to kill their grandchild.