Yesterday, a divided Illinois Supreme Court denied a request by the
Thomas More Society to transfer the legal case pending against the
Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 from the Appellate
Court to the Supreme Court. Justices Robert R. Thomas and Thomas L.
Kilbride dissented from the order denying the transfer.
"We're obviously disappointed with this ruling, but we remain committed
to doing everything we possibly can to bring these appeals to a speedy
and positive conclusion," said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel
of the Thomas More Society. "The latest constitutional attack on this
law by the American Civil Liberties Union was deemed legally meritless
and tossed out of court by both a federal appeals court and a Cook
County trial court, and yet the Attorney General agreed -- inexplicably
and without any legal basis -- that the enforcement of parental notice
should still be stayed, that is, suspended pending the outcome of the
ACLU's appeal."
With the transfer motion denied, the proceedings will continue in the
Illinois Appellate Court, First District, where Thomas More Society
attorneys are due to file their opening appeal brief on Friday.