520us1$41H 05-14-98 09:56:54 PAGES OPINPGT
294
Per Curiam
the petition within 48 hours from the time it is filed). §§ 50- 20-212(2)(a), (3). The minor's identity remains anonymous, and the proceedings and related documents are kept confidential. § 50-20-212(3).
If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that any of the following three conditions are met, it must grant the petition and waive the notice requirement: (i) the minor is "sufficiently mature to decide whether to have an abortion"; (ii) "there is evidence of a pattern of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse" of the minor by one of her parents, a guardian, or a custodian; or (iii) "the notification of a parent or guardian is not in the best interests of the [minor]." §§ 50-20-212(4), (5) (emphasis added). It is this third condition which is at issue here.
Before the Act's effective date, respondents—several physicians who perform abortions, and other medical personnel—filed a complaint seeking a declaration that the Act was unconstitutional and an order enjoining its enforcement. The District Court for the District of Montana, addressing only one of respondents' arguments, held that the Act was unconstitutional because the third condition set out above was too narrow. According to the District Court, our precedents require that judicial bypass mechanisms authorize waiver of the notice requirement whenever "the abortion would be in [the minor's] best interests," not just when "notification would not be in the minor's best interests." App. to Pet. for Cert. 17a (emphasis in original) (citing Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U. S. 622, 640-642 (1979) (plurality opinion)). Three days before the Act was to go into effect, the District Court enjoined its enforcement.
The Court of Appeals affirmed, stating that it was bound by its prior decision in Glick v. McKay, 937 F. 2d 434 (CA9 1991). See Wicklund v. Salvagni, 93 F. 3d 567, 571-572 (CA9 1996). Glick struck down Nevada's parental notification statute which, like Montana's statute here, allowed a minor to bypass the notification requirement if a court deter-
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007