The Alaska Supreme Court threw out an embattled state law Friday that required parental or judicial consent before a teenager can have an abortion.
In a 3-2 decision, the court said the consent requirement robs a pregnant teen of her constitutional right to make such an important decision herself and transfers that right to her parents or a judge.
However, a law that required parents to be notified of a juvenile daughter's plan to have an abortion would probably be all right, said Chief Justice Dana Fabe in the majority decision for the court. It's a option many other states use, she noted.
As illustrated by the vote, the decision was a close call. Both sides agreed that the state has a compelling interest in protecting juvenile girls against their own immaturity and that parents have a constitutional right -- a duty -- to guide their children. They differed over whether giving parents veto power over a pregnant juvenile's abortion decision went too far.
In general, when the state rolls over an individual right, even for a good and important reason, it must do so in the least restrictive manner. Allowing parents or a judge to require a teenager to have a baby "does not strike the proper constitutional balance" between the state's interests and "the fundamental rights of its citizens," the court said.
The dissenting opinion, written by Justice Walter Carpeneti for himself and Justice Warren Matthews, said requiring parental consent does not cross the line.
The state Legislature carefully balanced all competing rights involved, Carpeneti said, and correctly concluded that requiring parental or judicial consent for an abortion "is the least restrictive alternative which will effectively advance the state's compelling interests while protecting the child's constitutional right."
LEGAL RULING, NOT MORAL
The law requiring consent before a girl under 17 could get a legal abortion was enacted in 1997, but it was challenged immediately by a group headed by Planned Parenthood and never went into effect.
Of the 1,923 abortions performed in Alaska in 2006, 126 were obtained by girls 17 or younger.
The highly charged nature of the dispute, for both the parties and the justices, was apparent in the wording of an unusually philosophical introduction to the court ruling issued Friday:
"From time to time, we are called upon to decide constitutional cases that touch upon the most contentious moral, ethical, and political issues of our day. In deciding such cases, we are ever mindful of the unique role we play in our democratic system of government. We are not legislators, policy makers, or pundits charged with making law or assessing the wisdom of legislative enactments. We are not philosophers, ethicists, or theologians, and 'cannot aspire to answer' fundamental moral questions or resolve societal debates. We are focused only on upholding the constitution and laws of the State of Alaska," wrote Fabe.
"I don't believe you," said Anchorage attorney Robert Flint, addressing his remark to the Supreme Court after the introduction was read to him.
Flint, reached in Seattle on vacation, was one of the attorneys on the losing side -- supporting the law on behalf of the Legislature. He had not yet seen the ruling.
He accused the justices of "wholesale shaping of social and cultural mores." He said he was surprised there were any dissenters among the "philosopher kings" on the court.
AFFECTS FEW TEENS
This was the second time the case was considered by the high court. In 2001, the justices ruled that the privacy clause of the Alaska Constitution covered minors as well as adults.
Friday's opinion upheld a 2003 Superior Court decision declaring the law unconstitutional issued by Judge Sen Tan after a trial.
Clover Simon, head of Planned Parenthood of Alaska, hailed the decision but said it was important for people to understand that in real life, few people will be affected by it.
"There is a very small number of teens who choose to have an abortion without telling their parents," Simon said.
Anchorage attorney Jeff Feldman, part of the Planned Parenthood legal team, agreed. Evidence at trial was that "very few minors find themselves in this situation," Feldman said Friday. Those that do often come "from difficult or troubled families, where maybe the father or stepfather is the father. Not from intact families."
Contact Sheila Toomey at 257-4341.
Number of Alaska abortions by age in 2006.
Total 1,923
Under age 15 5
Age 15-17 121
Age 18-19 241
Age 20-24 667
Age 25-29 447
Age 30-34 224
Age 35-39 147
Age 40-44 45
Age 45 and over: 9 Age unknown 17
Source: Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics
Abortions in Alaska
