However, Atwell said the law is only constitutional with judicial limitations that protect free speech, and he issued an injunction stopping enforcement of the law until a higher court rules on the case.
Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (PPKMM) filed a lawsuit last month to challenge the law, complaining that it could financially cripple some Planned Parenthood affiliates.
PPKMM attorney Eve Gartner argued that counselors who discuss abortion with pregnant girls, whether or not the girls undergo abortion, could be considered to have violated the law. Atwell issued a preliminary injunction in November blocking the state from implementing the provision while he considered the issues of the case.
Atwell said the law is unconstitutional, as it infringes on the right to free speech and due process for people who provide information and counseling to girls, and said providing information on reproductive rights would be protected. However, he said the law would be constitutional if it were interpreted with his judicial restraints.
Atwell’s said that a lawsuit only could be brought against someone if they were familiar with the law and if they knew the girl being counseled was under 18 and also was trying to circumvent the consent requirement.
“[T]he court, with substantial trepidation, finds that(the law) is constitutional” with those restrictions in place, Atwell wrote. In his ruling, Atwell also questioned if his interpretation is “a legitimate act of judicial interpretation or does it constitute a rewriting (of the law) infringing upon the powers clearly invested in the legislative branch?”.
A Planned Parenthood spokesperson said the group will appeal Atwell’s ruling.
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