TALLAHASSEE (FBW/BP)—Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law May 25 House Bill 1659, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act, which implements voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment last November requiring that at least one parent be notified 48 hours before a minor may have an abortion in Florida.

Bush’s action comes only two days after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to rule on a New Hampshire state law requiring parental notification.

“Before a child undergoes a surgical procedure of any kind, it is imperative that the parent or guardian is properly notified,” Bush said in a May 25 statement issued from the governor’s office. “This not only ensures the safety of our children, but also strengthens the family unit by maintaining open dialogue between parent and child.”

The Florida parental notice law was strongly supported by various pro-family organizations, including the Florida Baptist Convention.

“Parents and legal guardians must be involved in all medical decisions involving underage children they are raising,” Bill Bunkley told Florida Baptist Witness. Bunkley is legislative consultant for the Florida Baptist Convention.

The constitutional amendment was approved by voters with nearly a two-to-one margin. The measure had been placed on the ballot by action of the legislature in response to a Florida Supreme Court ruling in July 2003 finding the 1999 Parental Notice Act violated the privacy right in the state’s constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced May 23 it would review a lower court decision striking down New Hampshire’s parental notification law. Oral arguments in the case will be heard in the court’s next term, which begins in October.

A three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in Boston, ruled in November that the law is unconstitutional because it does not contain an exception to protect the health of the mother and its exception for a threat to her life is too narrow. The appeals court’s decision upheld the ruling of a federal judge.

The 2003 law says a parent must be notified in person or in writing by an abortion provider when a female under 18 has requested the procedure. The notice must be given 48 hours prior to the abortion. The law also includes a provision permitting the girl to seek a judicial bypass to avoid the notice requirement.

Pro-life lawyer Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, said this is “a critical area of the law that needs to be corrected.”

“It is the parents who have a responsibility to be directly involved in decisions involving the health and well-being of their children,” Sekulow said in a written statement. “To permit minors to get abortions without parents being notified is not only legally flawed but bad public policy.”

The Florida Baptist Convention’s Bunkley told the Witness that he and other Tallahassee-based pro-family organizations are not concerned that Florida’s new law may be jeopardized by the Supreme Court’s review of the New Hampshire law, noting that the issues under review are not applicable to the Florida law.

“We will monitor the court’s action very closely to determine if it rules on any other aspects of the notification process,” Bunkley said.

Laws requiring parental notification or consent are in effect in 24 states, according to the National Right to Life Committee.

The case is Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood.

In addition to New Hampshire, the First Circuit includes the states of Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.