The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled Friday there's no need to notify parents before or after giving a teenager the morning-after pill, which may sometimes cause an abortion.
Melissa Anspach, then 16, visited the city health clinic in January 2004 and spoke briefly with a social worker before a nurse gave her one dose at the clinic and a second dose to take 12 hours later. She experienced severe abdominal pains and vomiting after taking the medication. She told her parents about the drug, and they took her to a hospital, where she was treated and released, The Associated Press reported.
The Anspachs raised religious objections to the clinic's actions.
Judge Theodore McKee wrote: "The Constitution does not impose an affirmative obligation on (the) defendants to ensure that children abide by their parents' wishes, values or religious beliefs."
Randy Wenger, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Family Institute, sees it differently.
"It's not a good decision for parents, and it was not a good decision for teenagers, either," he said. "In this country, we have a very elevated view of the individual, where an individual can make whatever stupid choice they want. Teenagers don't always make good choices."
Wenger also pointed out that Pennsylvania has a law requiring parental consent before a teenager has an abortion.
"The court's decision basically bypasses even the minimal safeguards the Legislature put in place," he said.
