MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal judges will hear arguments Tuesday appealing an overturned law that let judges put minors seeking abortions through a trial-like process and appoint a lawyer for the fetus in Alabama.
A 2014 law changed the process that allows minors to get an abortion with a judge’s waiver instead of parental consent. It allowed the judge to appoint a lawyer for the fetus and let the district attorney call witnesses to decide whether the minor was mature enough to have an abortion.
A Montgomery abortion clinic sued in 2014. The lawsuit argued the process burdened the minor and violated confidentiality. A federal judge struck down the law in July 2017.
The state appealed in October. They said the regulatory law doesn’t hinder minors from getting abortions in their best interests.
By MALLORY MOENCH
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