Thomas More Society       29 South LaSalle Street, Suite 440 Chicago, IL 60603   (312) 782-1680  March 15, 2008   Parental Involvement in Abortion Decisions of Minor Daughters Blocked By Federal Court Thomas More Society Files Motions Asking Federal Judge in Chicago To Reconsider Decision Concerns Over Whether the Attorney General Will Defend Parental Notice On Thursday, March 13, 2008, Thomas More Society attorneys filed motions (see Motion 1 and Motion 2) asking Judge David Coar to reconsider his recent decision that the Illinois Parental Notice Act of 1995 is unconstitutional. Judge Coar based his decision against the Notice Act on its lack of a consent provision. However, the required consent provision is provided by another statute, the Illinois " Consent by Minors to Medical Treatment Act," which was not cited in the court's decision. Nor was it cited by the Attorney General. Due to this effort by the Thomas More Society, along with the public outcry generated by numerous church and pro-life groups, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also filed a Notice of Appeal in the case on the same day, March 13, although prior to Thursday, Attorney General Madigan's office had not responded to repeated requests to meet, or at least for assurances that the Parental Notice Act would be vigorously defended. Click here for a full analysis and critique of Judge Coar's decision For Additional Information... Please see the full coverage of this story on our website, including the following: Thomas More Society documents: Motions Requesting Reconsideration of Parental Notice Decision Motion to Intervene Motion to Reconsider, Alter or Amend Analysis of Federal District Judge Coar's 2-28-2008 Decision Background Documents: Fall 2006 Analysis: "Breaking the Logjam: A Strategy for Enforcing the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995" Supplemental Petition  from the Thomas More Society on behalf of a coalition of ten Illinois pro-life and pro-family organizations , urging the Illinois Supreme Court to issue judicial bypass rules Analysis and Critique of Attorney General Madigan's Petition, 3-12-2007 Related documents: Federal District Judge David H. Coar's Ruling of 2-28-2008 Background Documents: Attorney General's Reply Memo - 6-21-2007  and Exhibits Polling Data on Parental Notice and Parental Consent Laws New Judicial Bypass Rules Issued by the Illinois Supreme Court - 9- 20-2006 Illinois Supreme Court's Letter to Lisa Madigan, urging her to act and ask the federal district court to lift the injunction preventing the law from taking effect - 2-27-2007 About the Thomas More Society  The Thomas More Society is a nonprofit, public interest law firm based in Chicago which provides legal counsel and defense for those who work to protect innocent human life. We provide free legal advice and assistance to those who face harassment, employment discrimination, unjust treatment, civil litigation or criminal prosecution as a result of their pro-life views or their peaceful protest activities.  In the last several years, we have scored two decisive victories before the U.S. Supreme Court in representing the named petitioners in the marathon, nationwide federal class action involving use of  the federal racketeering (RICO), extortion and antitrust law against abortion protesters (Scheidler v. NOW, 537 U.S. 393, 411 (2003), and Scheidler v. NOW, 125 S.Ct. 2991 (2006)).   The Society is supported solely by donations. To help fund our efforts or learn more about our work, visit www.thomasmoresociety.org. Thomas More Society * 29 S. LaSalle St. Suite 440 * Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 782-1680 * info@thomasmoresociety.org