Pennsylvania Abortion Law Provisions Barred : Court: Clauses making the statute the most restrictive in the U.S. are disallowed. An appeal is planned.

A federal judge today struck down provisions of Pennsylvania’s abortion law that helped make it the most restrictive in the country.

Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel H. Huyett III ruled on challenges to the law by Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and five abortion providers.

Huyett struck down portions of the law that require a woman to notify her husband before getting an abortion; wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, and require minors to obtain the consent of at least one parent, or a court order, before an abortion.

The U.S. territory of Guam had banned all abortions except where the mother’s life is threatened. A federal judge ruled that law unconstitutional Thursday.

In the Pennsylvania ruling, the judge said that requiring parental notification “unduly burdens a minor woman’s right to elect to end her pregnancy.”

Attorneys for both sides have said they will probably file appeals first to the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Safe, legal abortion continues to be accessible to women in Pennsylvania because of the court’s decision today,” said Elizabeth Hrenda-Roberts, executive director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Affiliates.

“Pennsylvanians would be well served if the Commonwealth accepts this decision and stops squandering taxpayers’ money to promote government interference in personal matters and threaten women’s lives,” she said.

Huyett quoted Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun’s warning about eroding abortion rights: “The signs are evident and very ominous, and a chill wind blows.”

“What the future holds is not certain,” Huyett said. “But one thing must be evident. Individuals can no longer feel as secure with the protections provided by the judiciary in this area. Instead, a woman’s privacy rights and individual autonomy may soon be subjected to the vicissitudes of the legislative process.”