H. L. v. Matheson

604 P.2d 907 (Utah 1979)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H. L. (D) was an unmarried minor living with and dependent upon her parents. D consulted a physician about an abortion during the first trimester of an unwanted pregnancy. D did not wish for her parents to know about the abortion. D's physician told her he was bound under a Utah statute to notify her parents. The statute called for notification, if possible, to the parents of unmarried minor children. D sued, seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction: the statute invaded her right to privacy in violation of the fourteenth amendment. The trial court dismissed the action; the statute did not unconstitutionally restrict the right of privacy of a minor to obtain an abortion. D appealed.