Illinois Senate OKs repealing abortion parental notification

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Senate voted Tuesday to repeal a law requiring that parents or guardians be notified when girls younger than 18 are seeking an abortion.

Building on momentum among abortion-rights activists after September's Texas “heartbeat” law banned most abortions, Democrats who control the General Assembly want to dump the 1995 law requiring notification, which both sides of the debate call the last restriction on abortions in Illinois.

But with a 32-22 tally in favor of repeal, the count fell short of approval of all who make up the Democrats' 41-18 advantage, showing the reticence among moderate Democrats on a law whose proposed repeal now moves to the House with two days left in the General Assembly's fall session.

Republicans repeatedly point out that notification has the support of nearly three-quarters of Illinoisans responding to a poll conducted last spring. And they publicized the nearly 50,000 notices of opposition to the legislation that were filed electronically before the vote.

“It’s the most basic human relationship that we know and it is a precious bond for a lifetime, most critical during a young girl's, a minor's, formative years....” said Republican Sen. Jil Tracy of Quincy. “We have enough problems in the state without creating more wedges between children and their parents.”

Pro-notice advocates note that the 48-hour alert to a parent or guardian the law requires involves only notification, not consent. According to the Guttmacher Institute, of 38 states requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, 21 require parental consent — in three of those, both parents must consent.

Opponents say the notification law, adopted by Republican majorities in 1995 but not in effect until 2013 because of legal...