A federal judge refused Tuesday to lift an injunction that bars state officials from enforcing a law requiring notification of parents before girls age 17 or younger can have abortions.
But U.S. District Judge David H. Coar said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan — who asked the court last month to allow enforcement of the state's long-dormant law — could try again to have the injunction lifted once state courts are ready to implement the law requiring parental notification.
The law, originally passed in 1984 and updated in 1995, requires that girls under 18 notify their parents before getting abortions. The injunction bars the state from enforcing the law.
Coar did not rule on the constitutionality of the law but merely said that the state courts have no rules to enforce it.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which had fought to keep the injunction in place, hailed Coar's decision.
"We heard Judge Coar indicate today that he is not prepared to rule on allowing enforcement of the mandatory parental notification law until the courts across our state can ensure the process will protect the constitutional rights of young women as well as health and safety," said Lorie Chaiten, director of the ACLU's reproductive rights project.
A Madigan spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.