Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- State legislators are talking about compromising on a major abortion battle over parental consent, but Gov. Sarah Palin isn't interested in the deal.

The compromise under discussion would be legislation that requires parental notification but not consent. That means parents would have to be told about their teenager's plan to have an abortion but wouldn't have to give their permission for it to happen.

North Pole Republican Rep. John Coghill, with Palin's backing, is still pushing for the full version generally requiring parental consent before girls under age 17 could get an abortion. But the state Senate blocked a similar bill last year and, without the compromise, it's hard to see how that wouldn't happen again.

Coghill is well aware of that, and opponents of his bill have signaled their openness to the compromise.

"If that's all I can get then it's something I would look favorably at," Coghill said.

Coghill conceded if anything can get passed through the Legislature it's probably going to be the requirement for parental notification and not consent. He thinks he has the votes to get his consent bill passed in the state House but "my hurdle is the Senate," he said.

Parental consent stalled last year in the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French. French is the committee chair again and there is no indication that he's changed his mind. French does, however, sound open to the compromise that requires only parental notification.

"I think that's certainly an issue that folks have a lot less concern about," French said. "If there is a compromise possible, it's in that area."

Eagle River Republican Sen. Fred Dyson, the most outspoken abortion opponent in the state Senate, said he could live with it.

"As my wife says about me, it's better than nothing," Dyson said.

But the bill is also a big priority for the governor, and Palin is not interested in a compromise.

"This bill is a good bill, as is, and I have faith that the pro-parent's rights lawmakers agree that if we require Alaska's kids to have their parent's consent before they're given a Tylenol from the school nurse, or before getting their ears pierced, that they understand why many parents support Rep. Coghill's bill, as written," Palin said in an e-mail to the Daily News on Friday.

It's not clear, though, what Palin could do to push the parental consent bill through the Senate. So she might have to accept a compromise worked out by the Legislature -- unless she was willing to veto a bill requiring parental notification.

The state Senate majority is a bipartisan coalition with sharply divided views, particularly on an emotional issue like abortion. Senate President Gary Stevens has said hot button things like abortion and universal health care aren't likely to move.

"When you have 10 Democrats and (six) Republicans in a caucus in the Senate, you are probably never going to deal with those extreme issues, the far left and the far right," the Kodiak Republican said earlier this year.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman French has questioned the constitutionality of the parental consent bill. Two years ago the Alaska Supreme Court ruled a similar bill unconstitutional on a 3-2 vote, saying 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.

But Chief Justice Dana Fabe, in the majority decision for the court, said a law requiring parents to be notified of a juvenile daughter's plan to have an abortion would probably be all right.

Another court challenge is promised if the Legislature does pass the requirement for parental consent, and the state expects it would cost at least $300,000 to pay for the defense. Palin has suggested, though, that the prevailing opinion on the court might have changed since the 2007 decision.

Palin has made two appointments to the Supreme Court during her two years in office, but her most recent pick in March is a former board member of Planned Parenthood, an abortion rights group. The governor was limited in who she could pick to the nominees sent to her by the Alaska Judicial Council.

Coghill argues this year's parental consent bill would be more likely to survive in court because it includes changes like an exception for victims of documented abuse. There's also a provision for teens to go to court to bypass the requirement for parental permission. The overturned law had a bypass mechanism as well, but this one makes the courts decide faster.

Coghill's House Bill 35 requiring parental consent made it out of the House Finance Committee on Friday and could go to the House floor soon for a vote. Anchorage Democratic Rep. Les Gara spoke against it, saying the requirement for parental permission doesn't work for the teens who come from families who have major problems, or for foster kids.

"I don't know how to write the law for when the family is messed up and dysfunctional," he said.

Fairbanks Republican Rep. Mike Kelly said teenagers should have to get permission.

"The default here should be life, not death," he said.

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