Vol. 71/No. 24      June 18, 2007

Young women led the action. Sponsors included Access Living, African American Women Evolving, Chicago Abortion Fund, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Illinois NOW, and Mujeres Latinas en Acción (Latina Women in Action).

The rally was held outside the office of Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan, who is pushing for enforcement of the law, which has faced legal hurdles since its passage in 1995.

The law requires women under 18 to notify a parent or legal guardian 48 hours before obtaining an abortion. It also allows young women to seek a “judicial bypass”—approval by a court if they are unable to notify parents. Because the state Supreme Court didn’t issue rules on how this bypass would work, the law could not be put into effect for a decade. Last year, however, the Illinois high court issued such rules, and this year Madigan asked a federal court to allow its implementation.

“A few weeks ago I didn’t know about the law that says you need a parent’s consent,” Marcuetta Williams, 19, said at the rally. “I could not believe it. It’s the woman’s life. She’s the one who would be responsible for raising kids.”

Brenda Moreno, 25, is a member of Mujeres Latinas en Acción. “We want to create more access to women’s rights to a safe and legal abortion,” she said.

Neusa Gaytan, the program director of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, said the Mexican press contacted the group when Mexico City decriminalized abortion in April. “The victory in Mexico City is being discussed in Brazil and other countries in Latin America,” she said. “Women should know about it here.”

Forty-four states have passed parental notification or consent laws. State courts have found such measures unconstitutional in 10 states. In all states where such measures are in effect, except Utah, the judicial bypass option is included.

“It’s just not realistic to ask young women to try to successfully navigate the court system for a judicial bypass,” Toni Leonard, president of African American Women Evolving, said at the rally.

Supporters of these laws argue they help enforce parents’ authority. The Michigan law, for example, is called the Parental Rights Restoration Act.

Protesters here said these laws force young women into dangerous situations. “It hurts the most vulnerable young people seeking reproductive health care,” said Soo Ji Min, executive director of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health. “Imagine living in an abusive family, where you know there will be extreme consequences if the parents find out you are sexually active or pregnant.”

“The laws don’t represent the interest of young people and their voices need to be heard!” said Adaku Utah, youth organizer of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, speaking on the bullhorn.

Utah participated in and helped build a 2004 pro-choice march of 1 million in Washington, D.C. “That march was the first time I saw a big contingent of women of color,” she said. “We marched for choice, access, and other women’s health issues. Today we are still fighting for justice.”

“We will continue to educate and take action,” said Gaylon Alcaraz, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, the only source of subsidizing second-trimester abortions in Illinois and surrounding states. An abortion costs between $500 and $1,500 in Illinois. Although most of the Fund’s clients come from the Chicago area, the group says it receives calls from as far away as Missouri, Indiana, and Iowa.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home