Cincinnati Women’s Services, Inc. v. Taft

468 F.3d 361 (6th Cir. 2006)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 1998, Ohio passed new abortion laws. Prior law did not restrict upon the number of times a minor woman could petition for a judicial bypass of the prior parental-notification rule. The new law included the Single-Petition Rule, which limits to once per pregnancy the number of times a minor may seek a judicial bypass in lieu of parental consent. The Single-Petition Rule provides that 'no juvenile court shall have jurisdiction to rehear a petition concerning the same pregnancy once a juvenile court has granted or denied the petition.' The 1998 amendment also requires women seeking abortions to attend an in-person meeting with a physician for informed-consent purposes. The district court found that the In-Person Rule will have the practical effect of requiring all of P's own clients to come to its premises twice, once for the informed-consent meeting with a physician affiliated with P, and a second time for the procedure. P currently excuses approximately 5 to 10 percent of its patients from its normal two-visit protocol because of the distance of their residencies from the clinic, their lack of resources, or because of interference from an abusive partner. P filed a pre-enforcement facial attack against two of the Act's provisions. With respect to the Single-Petition Rule, the district court reasoned that Supreme Court precedent does not 'require the state to afford a minor virtually unlimited opportunities to petition for a bypass.' The district court also held that the Single-Petition Rule 'does not impose any undue burden even in the pre-viability context.' The court upheld the In-Person Rule because it 'does not create a substantial obstacle for women seeking abortions.' It held that a 'delay of up to two weeks does not impose an undue burden on women seeking abortions.' P appealed.