On Wednesday, January 18th, the US Supreme Court announced its decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al. The court recognized its precedent that abortion laws must protect women's health and safety. The case began as a challenge to a New Hampshire law that prevents doctors from performing an abortion for a teenager under the age of 18 until 48 hours after a parent has been notified. Contrary to 30 years of Supreme Court precedent, the law contained no medical emergency exception to protect a pregnant teenager's health. The lower courts had struck down the law because of this omission. The Supreme Court asked the lower court to consider whether the New Hampshire legislature would have wanted this law with a medical emergency exception. If not, the Court said the law should be struck down in its entirety.

"Today's decision tells politicians that they cannot jeopardize women's health when they pass abortion laws," said Jennifer Dalven, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, and the attorney who argued Ayotte before the Court. "We are relieved that the Supreme Court left in place protections for women's health and safety in abortion laws," said PPFA Interim President Karen Pearl. "We continue to believe that the law should be struck down by the lower court." "The New Hampshire legislature intentionally omitted a medical emergency exception when it passed this law," Dalven added. "We continue to believe that the lower court will recognize this and strike down the law in its entirety." Statement from Planned Parenthood and the ACLU

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