Judicial bypass

A number of states, including Pennsylvania, have adopted laws mandating that teenagers must obtain their parents’ permission before getting an abortion.  The U.S. Supreme Court has noted that in cases where the teenager is pregnant because her father had sex with her, or where the teenager may be beaten by the parents, to ask the parents for permission makes no sense.  In those cases, the pregnant teenager can go to a judge and explain the problem, and the judge may grant permission for an abortion.  Most judges do so without question.  This is known as the “judicial bypass.”

In March 2010 an Allegheny County judge actually ruled that a teenager could not get an abortion without telling her parents because if she didn’t tell her mother, she was too immature to have an abortion.  I guess the judge thought she was not too immature to raise a child.

Last week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a burst of good sense, ruled that:  “Every minor who seeks judicial authorization for an abortion does so because she lacks or elects not to seek parental consent.  Thus, a minor’s failure to consult with her parent cannot serve as the basis for denying a petition.”

Well, yeah.