San Francisco, CA -- A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld Arizona's pro-life law requiring minors to get parental consent to have an abortion.

Ruling 2-1, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not address the constitutionality of requiring girls under 18 to get parental or guardian consent to have an abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the validity of that, prompting 32 states to adopt some type of parental involvement law -- either notification or consent.

"Finally parents and their teenage daughters in Arizona will be protected from the heavy-handed tactics of the abortion industry," explained Arizona Right to Life executive director Shane Wikfors. "Year after year we have passed parental consent legislation only to have it attacked by Planned Parenthood and the courts. This ruling will finally restore the bond
between parent and child that has been broken by Planned Parenthood. We also know this ruling will result in a marked decrease in the number of abortions in Arizona. We are extremely pleased by the decision."

The dispute centered on how Arizona's 1999 law dealt with cases in which a girl wants to have an abortion but does not get permission from a parent or guardian.

In upholding parental consent laws, the Supreme Court has ruled that states must allow children to seek a juvenile court judge's approval for an abortion if they don't have parents or guardians, or do not want their parents or guardians to know about the pregnancy.

In those instances, judges generally are obliged to grant the abortion.

Planned Parenthood sued to block the law, arguing that Arizona's law did not guarantee the privacy of girls who sought a judge's approval, and therefore violated the rights of girls to retain their medical privacy.

The appeals court did not agree, and said Arizona's statute "satisfies two constitutionally recognized rights of privacy, the right to make fundamental life decisions and the right to avoid disclosure of personal information," Judge Richard C. Tallman ruled.

Planned Parenthood said that Arizona's law wrongly allows any court employee or government official connected with the courts to review a girl's file.

Judge Warren J. Ferguson generally agreed with Planned Parenthood and said a lack of privacy may unconstitutionally dissuade girls from having an abortion.

Arizona Assistant Attorney General Paula Bickett said a girl's juvenile court abortion file would remain confidential, and that Arizona government officials can view it on a need-to-know basis only. The general public, she said, does not have access.

"The majority opinion is consistent with our arguments," Bickett said.

Pattie Caldwell, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona, said the decision may drive girls to have "illegal abortions or harm themselves through self-induced abortion."

An Arizona federal judge upheld the pro-life measure last year, but blocked the law from being enforced pending the outcome of appeals. Despite Wednesday's decision, the law is not immediately enforceable because the court's decisions do not become final for about a month to allow time for fresh appeals.

The case is Planned Parenthood v. LaWall, 01-16799.