NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    TALLAHASSEE (CWNews.com) - A Florida judge this week ruled a law requiring parental consent for abortions for teens was unconstitutional.

    Circuit Judge Terry Lewis cited the Florida Constitution's privacy amendment -- which grants every person "the right to be let alone and free from government intrusion into his private life" -- in overturning the law. The state attorney general's office said it will appeal the ruling.

    In 1989, the Florida Supreme Court also ruled a law requiring parental consent before an underage girl's abortion was unconstitutional. The new law would only have required parental notification at least 48 hours before. It was to have taken effect on Monday, but now will not be enforceable during the appeal.

    Florida Right to Life, calling parental notification a law that "will help restore sanity back in the family," said it is "bizarre" that a child cannot get her ears pierced without permission but can have an abortion without her parents' knowledge.

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