Parental Notification and Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

RS22342 -- Parental Notification and Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

December 2, 2005

Summary

This report discusses Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this term. The case involves the constitutionality of the New Hampshire Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act. In November 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit invalidated the act because it does not include an explicit exception that would waive the measure's requirements to preserve the health of the pregnant minor. Ayotte, the Attorney General of New Hampshire, contends that a judicial bypass procedure included in the act and other state statutes sufficiently preserve the health of a minor. The Court will review that position, and consider whether the First Circuit applied the correct standard of review when it heard the case in 2004.