The attorney for a statewide group of mothers argued Nov. 15 at the Minnesota Court of Appeals that the MOMS, or Mothers Offering Maternal Support, should be allowed to intervene and appeal a judge’s decision striking down a 48-hour parental notification requirement before an abortion is performed on a minor.
“Parents have the right to know because they are the first to help,” said Teresa Collett, a law professor and director of the Prolife Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, who is serving in a private capacity as lead counsel for MOMS.
Hear the Minnesota Court of Appeals Oral Argument Audio Recording here
Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Olson argued that MOMS was not a party to the case when it was brought, and the group was too late presenting its motion to intervene. “Minnesota courts do not allow intervention with this kind of wait and see approach,” she said.
Collett said it only became clear with the July 11 ruling from Judge Thomas Gilligan Jr. that Attorney General Keith Ellison, who declined to appeal Gilligan’s ruling and opposed MOMS’ efforts to intervene, did not adequately defend the state law.
Among those challenging the law were an obstetrician-gynecologist who performs abortions and a Minneapolis nonprofit, Our Justice, which provides financial and logistical help to people seeking an abortion. The law has been in place more than 40 years.
In the same ruling, Gilligan struck down several other longstanding protections against abortion, including a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion. While Gilligan’s ruling may pertain only to Ramsey County, many of the abortions in Minnesota are performed in the county, Collett said.
A ruling on the intervention request could be made in about 90 days, the court’s three-judge panel said.
