Read more about House Bill and Senate Bill Bulletin ads are here in English , in Español , and in Polskie. We, the diocesan bishops of Illinois, write today out of great concern. They are House Bill and Senate Bill The enactment of this legislation would lead to tragic and irreversible outcomes. The Parental Notice of Abortion Act simply requires that when a minor girl seeks to have an abortion, a parent or guardian is notified 48 hours before the procedure.
The obvious hope of the law is that parents, by their deep love and moral obligation, will act to protect, support and guide their children. Repealing the Act is nothing less than an invasion into the sacred space of family life by the state, with no provision to support the minor emotionally, humanely or materially at a critical moment in her life.
It is unfortunately true that not all young people come from loving homes. In these cases, when the threat of abuse or neglect outweighs the rights of parents, the current law allows a young girl the opportunity to declare in writing that there is abuse, or she can seek an emergency hearing before a judge to explain her situation.
We acknowledge that this can be emotionally difficult; however, such difficulty must be weighed against the harm done when our laws effectively undermine family life by separating children from the care of parents who love them the most.
The state should do everything to support families, not destabilize them. The existing Parental Notice of Abortion Act provides important safeguards against the evils of sexual abuse and human trafficking. Why would we want to create such a dangerous environment? Simply put, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act works. The lives saved by this law are real and present among us. These are the reasons every state in the Midwest and 37 states overall have laws requiring some form of parental involvement in the decision of a minor to have an abortion.
