By AlaskaWatchman.com

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The U.S. Supreme court issued an 8-1 ruling on March 20 which nullifies a lower court decision claiming  that minors can get abortions without prior parental notification.

The high court’s ruling orders the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss its decision claiming minors could obtain abortions without parental notification so long as they obtain permission from a judge.

The legal issue arose when a Missouri teen requested court permission for an abortion without telling her parents, as was required by state law at the time. While the 8th Circuit struck down the Missouri law, the Supreme Court overturned the decision.

The case presented unique legal challenges given the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. Abortion is now banned in Missouri except when deemed “necessary” to prevent serious damage to a mother’s health or to save her life.

The State of Missouri argued that the 8th Circuit ruling should be revisited given that there is now no recognized “right” to abortion in the U.S. When the lower court declined to revist, the Supreme Court stepped in and said the 8th Circuit’s decision was “moot” and could not, therefore, be used by future courts as a precedent for decisions against parental consent.

Alaska is one of a minority of states that does not require parental notification or consent before a minor gets an abortion. While Alaska has successfully passed laws affirming both parental notification and consent, the State Supreme Court has struck them down.

A spokesperson from the Alaska Department of Law said the department has not yet read the Supreme Court case in detail, but that ruling likely won’t affect Alaska law.

“[A]s it is a federal court case, it likely involves the application of the federal constitution,” the Dept. of Law Communications Director Patty Sullivan said in an email. “Alaska’s parental consent and parental notification laws were both invalidated under the Alaska Constitution, not the federal constitution. And Dobbs did not do anything to overturn state constitutions or a state court’s interpretation of a state constitution.”

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SCOTUS strikes down ruling that let minors get abortions without parental notice

Joel Davidson
Joel is Editor-in-Chief of the Alaska Watchman. Joel is an award winning journalist and has been reporting for over 24 years, He is a proud father of 8 children, and lives in Palmer, Alaska.


7 Comments

  • Bob Bird says:

    Once again, the state constitution says absolutely NOTHING about abortion. Only the Alaska legislature and judiciary does, reading “tea leaves” from their own warped understanding of privacy. Furthermore, the state constitution DOES say in its first breath that “This constitution is dedicated to the principle that all persons have a natural right to life.” So, if a court was actually going to follow the constitution, they would determine that the 1970 law that legalized abortion is the thing that is unconstitutional.

  • Friend of Humanity says:

    I think that any facility or doctor or nurse in Alaska that continues to provide abortions to minors should have their licenses removed and if they are performing these procedures at a facility that receives federal funding, then the federal funding should be removed. Good to hear that the US Supreme Court has made another humanity-loving decision!

  • Friend of Humanity says:

    Amazing how the covid plandemic has seemingly opened a portal from hell. How many ungodly crazy things are coming at us from all directions now? Everywhere a person turns, there is some inhumane attack. Just heard this video, ‘Mistakes Were NOT Made’ that is worth listening to and sharing. https://rumble.com/v2dnlle-mistakes-were-not-made-an-anthem-for-justice-by-margaret-anna-alice-read-by.html

  • Molly says:

    Why is there a mass attack on our childrens sex lives?
    The Alaska Supreme Court, the one where ONLY COMMIE JUDGES ARE ALLOWED, overturned the will of the people of Alaska, AGAIN.
    Teachers are grooming our sons and daughters with sex education without parental consent or age appropriate materials.
    The school board wants to keep parents out of the schools, out of their childrens education, out of their childrens lives and are actively sexualizing them no matter what you do (get them out of public schools already). You must opt them all out of these nasty sex programs (also known As sex ed).
    The teachers, school board and the federal government want to TRANSition your children away from their birth gender and ensure they are confused (this helps to groom them).
    Planned parenthood (anti parenthood, pro abortion) wants our daughters to experience an abortion without your knowledge or consent. As teachers are allowed to keep you out of these decisions, your daughters are learning how easy an abortion is, without your input, knowledge or consent.
    Why are our daughters getting pregnant? Who is having sex with them?
    Why do teachers want to “teach” our kids sex?

    • Michael Hughes says:

      The “Alta Vendita”, written in 1830 by Piccolo Tigre, details how to destroy the Catholic Church from within by gradually (over hundreds of years) taking over positions of power by first inculcating modernist humanist theory, proscribed by Voltaire and put into practice by the French Revolution, into children, the result of which we are now experiencing.
      It doesn’t matter what you may think of the Catholic Church, the results of this movement affect the entire world by removing the power of this prevalent moral force of the past 2 millenia, thereby allowing thw present evils to prevail.
      https://idoc.pub/documents/permanent-instruction-of-the-alta-vendita-qvnd7d9x59nx

  • Mary says:

    Yes, the video,”Mistakes Were Not Made” should be listened to and shared.

  • DaveMaxwell says:

    Excellent 4 minute feature! Please help to corner dunleavy and force him to watch this and answer the people, especially on behalf of those who’s relatives are dead!