Colorado lawsuit seeking to end parental notice for minors’ abortions moves forward

A lawsuit seeking to eliminate Colorado’s parental notification safeguard for minors seeking abortions will move forward after a state judge rejected the state’s effort to dismiss the challenge.

Denver District Court Judge Ian Kellogg ruled Aug. 17 that Dr. Rebecca Cohen, an abortion provider and the plaintiff in the case, could proceed with her claim that the notification law violates Amendment 79 of the state’s constitution.

Amendment 79 enshrined the deadly practice of abortion as a constitutional right and prohibits state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against its exercise.

Under Colorado’s Parental Notification Act, a parent or guardian must receive written notice at least 48 hours before an abortion is performed on an unemancipated minor.

Cohen maintains that those protections delay minors’ abortions, intrude on their privacy, and undermine the confidentiality of their medical care, the Colorado Times Recorder reported Aug. 21.

Rupali Sharma, co-director of litigation at the Lawyering Project, who is representing Cohen, commented on the ruling in an Aug. 20 news release, which called the ruling a “victory” for the state.

“No one should be forced to remain pregnant,” she said, “give birth, and become a parent against their will. Colorado’s constitution protects the right to abortion regardless of age, and this ruling means the work to ensure young people can get critical, time-sensitive health care will continue.”

In his ruling, Kellogg pointed to a separate Colorado law allowing pregnant minors to authorize prenatal, delivery, and post-delivery care without parental notification or consent. He emphasized, however, that the ruling does not decide whether the law is unconstitutional.

“To be clear,” Kellogg wrote in the order, “the Court is not deciding that the requirements imposed by the [Parental Notification Act] do, as a matter of law, rise to the level of unconstitutional discrimination.”

The parental notification safeguard remains in effect as the case proceeds. The law includes exceptions for abuse, neglect, and medical emergencies while allowing a minor to ask a judge to waive the requirement, the order noted.

Before Amendment 79 passed in 2024, Catholic leaders in the state warned that it would entrench unrestricted abortion throughout pregnancy and strip away safeguards for the preborn.

Then-Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila urged Catholics that year to oppose the measure, pointing specifically to what it could mean for minors and their parents.

“There is no age restriction on abortion in Colorado, and [Amendment] 79 would prevent parents from being informed if their 15-year-old daughter has an abortion,” Aquila wrote. “Parents must have the right to know if their adolescent daughter is being pressured into getting an abortion by their boyfriend or someone in authority such as their coach, teacher, school nurse or counselor.”