In a development that Chicago’s Mauck & Baker Law Firm attributes to a recently-implemented parental notification law, Illinois’ abortion rate among minors has dropped almost 28%.
The state Department of Public Health reported last week that over 500 fewer abortions among minors took place in 2014 than in 2013. The Illinois Parental Notification Act of 1995 was originally passed more than twenty years ago, but was blocked from implementation due to ongoing legal challenge, and did not take effect until 2013.
Mauck & Baker got involved in 2012, joining Alliance Defending Freedom in filing an amicus curiae brief with the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of Christian Medical & Dental Association, the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Catholic Medical Association. The court unanimously ruled in favor of the law in July 2013.
“[M]inors are best served when they are fully informed and can benefit from their parents’ wisdom and support,” attorney Richard Baker said. “Each young girl is important. Parents are important. And each unborn life is important. About 2000 years ago, unto us a child was born the Messiah. We are honored to have a part in seeing 500 children born in Illinois who may someday come to faith in Him.”
The data also shows that the state’s overall abortion rate dropped by 6% in 2014 to below 40,750 abortions, the lowest Illinois has seen since Roe v. Wade was handed down in 1973.
