Judge Blocks Part of Pennsylvania’s Abortion Law

A judge delayed implementation Wednesday of part of the state’s new restrictive abortion law, which had been in effect just two days after years of court battles.

Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini said sections of the law requiring a woman’s informed consent cannot take effect until 10 days after informational booklets are published. The materials will explain fetal development, the abortion procedure and its risks.

The law requires that women seeking abortions be told about the availability of the booklets 24 hours before the procedure. It also requires unmarried women under age 18 to get permission for an abortion from a parent or judge.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health sent 15,000 informational booklets to 128 of the state’s 142 registered abortion providers, spokeswoman Kathy Liebler said.

The issue will soon be resolved because the booklets have been distributed, state Atty. Gen. Ernie Preate said.

Kathryn Kolbert, an attorney representing a number of clinics, asked Tuesday for an injunction against the law because the clinics had not received the materials.

“Doctors are subject to criminal penalties, license suspension and revocation, and it is very important they know not only when the act takes effect but what is expected of them,” she said.

Pellegrini scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday so the two sides can present arguments on when the 10-day period to review the information booklets is over.

Kolbert said the clinics will ask the court to delay the law until the materials are published in the state’s official journal, the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and that 30 days of comment be required.

The state believes the limit will be over next week, 10 days from Tuesday’s distribution.

U.S. District Judge Daniel H. Huyett III lifted the five-year ban on the law late Monday, a week after U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter rejected an appeal by abortion providers.