An IllinoisState board voted Wednesday to allow the enforcement of a long-debated Illinois law requiring notification of a teenage girl’s parents before she has an abortion. But hours later, a judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the measure back on hold.
The order will remain in effect until the judge can hear arguments on the issue. Cook County Judge Daniel Riley said he felt the American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the restraining order, “demonstrated the distinct possibility of irreparable harm.”
The Illinois law was passed in 1995, but it was never enforced because of various court actions. Thirty-five other states have similar laws, which meant some teens seeking abortions came to Illinois to have them.
“This is a dumping ground for other states,” said Joseph Scheidler, national director of the Pro-Life Action League. “You go look at the license plates at the abortion clinics.”
Allowing the law to take effect raised the possibility that “young women in this state would be abused, they would be kicked out of their homes,” Lorie Chaiten, head of the Illinois ACLU’s reproductive rights project, said after the court hearing.