Hodgson v. Minnesota

The petitioners were a group of doctors, clinics, pregnant minors, and the mother of a pregnant minor. They challenged a Minnesota law that required minors seeking an abortion to notify and receive consent from both  biological parents at least 48 hours before the procedure. Minors who were victims of parental abuse were instead required to give notice to the authorities and declare their abuse. Subdivision 6 of the law provided that, if a court enjoined the two-parent notification requirement, a minor could bypass parental notification with a court order by proving that (i) they are “mature and capable of giving informed consent” or (ii) it would be in their best interest to obtain an abortion without notifying their parents. The petitioners argued that the law was unconstitutional for violating the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The District Court struck down and enjoined the enforcement of the law in its entirety, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed because of the section allowing minors to obtain a court order bypassing the two-parent-permission system. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that while the two-parent-permission system was burdensome and not reasonably related to legitimate state interest, the remainder of the law was constitutional because it allowed minors to approach the court for authorization to obtain an abortion without parental notification.

Topics

• Abortion and reproductive health rights
• Gender discrimination

Geographical location

• North America
• United States

Keywords

• child abuse
• Children's rights
• constitutional rights
• state actor

Year

• 1990

External URL

• Hodgson v. Minnesota

Court

• Supreme Court of the United States

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• United States