Mo. Supreme Court hears challenge of 24-hour wait for abortions

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Abortion rights attorneys argued to the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday that a state law requiring women to be counseled and wait a day to get an abortion is unconstitutionally vague.

The law requires physicians to wait 24 hours to perform abortions after consulting women about "any physical, psychological, or situational" risk factors. Planned Parenthood challenged the law, contending it leaves doctors unclear about when they could face charges.

The law is on hold, after being challenged separately in federal court. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in June 2004, and the state appealed that order. The appeals court has not yet ruled.

The state lawsuit also was filed in June 2004. A Boone County Circuit Court judge upheld the law against the vagueness challenge, prompting Planned Parenthood's appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Planned Parenthood attorney Mimi Liu told the state's highest court Tuesday that doctors would have to discuss an "infinite array of factors" with patients seeking an abortion to be in compliance.

"It does not put the doctors on notice on what is required by law," she said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Wolff and others, however, suggested during questioning that while doctors likely could be held liable for not discussing abortion risks with patients, it would be difficult to prosecute doctors who counsel their patients.

An attorney for the state, Victorine Mahon, argued the law is constitutional because it implies that doctors should use their best medical judgment in determining which factors need to be discussed.

"A statute doesn't have to be a model of clarity" to be upheld, she said.

Planned Parenthood said that if the state Supreme Court rules in its favor, the federal challenge will be moot. Planned Parenthood can return to federal court to pursue its clams if the high court rules for the state.

Besides calling the language too vague for doctors to know how to respond, Planned Parenthood also argues that requiring a woman to wait 24 hours infringes on her right to have an abortion, though Liu did not focus on that point during arguments Tuesday.

Legislators enacted the abortion waiting period law in September 2003 by overriding then-Gov. Bob Holden's veto.

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Case number is SC86768.

On the Net:

Supreme Court: http://www.courts.mo.gov/sup/index.nsf