Abortion Notification Upheld

A Minnesota law requiring pregnant minors to notify their parents or secure court clearance before having an abortion is constitutional, a divided 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today.

The opinion reversed a ruling last year by a three-judge panel of the same court. The earlier opinion had upheld a finding by the U.S. District Court in Minnesota that the law was unconstitutional. The law, which took effect on Aug. 1, 1981, was suspended in November, 1986, by U.S. District Judge Donald Alsop, who ruled unconstitutional the law’s requirement that a pregnant girl under 18 years old notify her biological parents before receiving an abortion.