ACLU and Planned Parenthood Warn That Supreme Court Case on NH Abortion Restriction Could Jeopardize Women's Health and Safety

Decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Could Fundamentally Change Legal Landscape for Reproductive Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@aclu.org

WASHINGTON In response to briefs filed late yesterday in the Supreme Court by the New Hampshire Attorney General, the United States, and others supporting a state abortion restriction, the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) warned that the decision in this case could fundamentally change the legal landscape for reproductive rights and put women's health at risk.

"For years, courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have consistently held that abortion restrictions must include exceptions to protect women who need emergency medical care," said Jennifer Dalven, Deputy Director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "A decision in this case could unravel that protection, endangering women who need abortions to safeguard their health."

The United States, in its brief, argues against the need for such an exception.

"At Planned Parenthood, the health and safety of our patients is our top priority. Even one woman harmed by this law is one woman too many when her health and safety are at risk," said Dara Klassel, Director of Legal Affairs at PPFA.

Under consideration in the case is a 2003 New Hampshire abortion restriction that targets young women and does not include a health exception. Following Supreme Court precedent, two federal courts held the law unconstitutional because it lacked the required health exception.

The plaintiffs in the case are Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Concord Feminist Health Center, the Feminist Health Center of Portsmouth, and Wayne Goldner, M.D. The ACLU and PPFA will file their brief on October 12.

The case is Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, No. 04-1144. Lawyers on the case include Dalven and Corinne Schiff of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project; Klassel of PPFA; Martin P. Honigberg of Sulloway & Hollis, PLLC; and Lawrence Vogelman, of Nixon Raiche Manning Vogelman & Leach, PA and Legal Director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.