Don't obstruct notification law

There isn't much common ground on abortion, but reasonable people on both sides of the issue favor parental notification laws. No surprise, the ACLU does not.

Last week Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan went to court to enforce our state's parental notification law. The American Civil Liberties Union promptly promised to fight her in court.

Does anyone really believe it is in the best interest of 15- and 16-year-old girls to let them decide whether to have a legal abortion without a parent's input? Minors can't get their ears pierced without a parent's permission, yet they can consent to this invasive medical procedure. It makes no sense.

The ACLU trots out the usual scare tactics -- that a girl might be physically harmed or turned out on the street if she told her parents. Those situations are rare, not the norm. But the state has set up a judicial bypass provision for any minor who feels she can't tell her parents.

Madigan said 44 states have parental notification laws, and the federal courts have upheld provisions that are similar to Illinois'. Still the ACLU claims Illinois' law isn't good enough.

We don't need the ACLU wasting taxpayers' money and court time on a matter that's already been decided in other states. More importantly, we don't want this out-of-the-mainstream organization trying to deny girls the adult guidance they need on whether to get an abortion.