Blanket Parental Consent Requirement for Minor's Abortion Decision Is Unconstitutional

Summarizes the Supreme Court’s case, Planned Parenthood v. Danforth. The primary issue faced by the Court in Planned Parenthood was whether the state could impose a blanket provision requiring the consent of a parent or person in loco parentis as a condition precedent for abortions of all unmarried minors during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. In reaching its holding that blanket parental consent provisions are unconstitutional, the Court gave very little guidance to the lower courts and state legislatures on what standards to apply in fashioning a valid statute. It is an issue that undoubtedly the Supreme Court will be faced with again.