Don't rush this law without help for girls

Imagine you are a 17-year-old girl looking to get an abortion. You've made up your mind but fear telling your parents. It could mean getting kicked out of your home, beaten up or worse.

A new state law says parents must be notified -- but there is a way around it if a teen can convince a judge she's mature enough to make the decision or that telling her parents could put her in danger.

This page thinks parents should be involved in such a big decision. But if a teen cannot tell her parents, she must have a way out.

Right now, though, that way out looks like a dead end.

The state could decide as early as today that doctors must start complying with this new law, but we urge the state to delay.

Illinois courts, according to recent court filings, aren't ready to help the girls who will invariably land on their doorsteps.

The state's Financial and Professional Regulation Department already delayed the law's implementation in August because doctors and courts weren't ready, giving them three more months to prepare.

Some counties now are ready, including Cook, but interviews with circuit court employees in 15 counties in September and October show how far Illinois has to go.

In just two of 15 counties contacted by a group set up to help minors through the judicial bypass process did the staff "seem fully informed" about the law and "somewhat prepared" to help, according to an affidavit filed in a suit seeking to stop the law's implementation.

In the rest, employees had never heard of the law, couldn't provide any information or said they would call back but never did.

One court employee even insisted that a minor be accompanied by a guardian.

Here's one typical exchange:

"In [Downstate] Edwards County," the affidavit reads, "the receptionist stated that she did not 'have the slightest idea what [I was] talking about' and told me to call back to talk to the clerk." The clerk then "informed me that she 'would need to talk to the judge on that' but he was 'not available today.' "

The law, it's important to note, requires a judge's decision 48 hours after a girl files a petition.

The state also looked at current court procedures, and those findings are to be released today. Unless they are dramatically different from what has been documented, the state must delay.

This law can work only if girls have a real way out.