By Rita McInerney

The Parental Notification Act passed by the Georgia general assembly is scheduled to become effective Sept. 16.

Upheld as constitutional June 17 by a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, enforcement of the act has been delayed by courtroom challenges from Planned Parenthood since the summer of 1987. The legislature has passed it early in 1987 and revised it in 1988.

After the June 17 ruling there was confusion as to when the law became effective. Planned Parenthood was granted a 40-day delay on its enforcement by the federal appeals court on Aug. 6.

The law requires an unmarried female under 18 to furnish a statement signed by a parent or guardian saying that person has been notified of her intent to have the abortion. The law also permits a physician or agent to give at least 24 hours notice, in person or by telephone to the parent or guardian, of the pending abortion and the place.

Another alternate provision stipulates the parent or guardian must be notified in writing by the doctor or agent of the abortion and where it will be performed.

A judicial bypass gives the minor who elects not to comply with one of the notification requirements the right to petition juvenile court for a waiver.

Anyone violating the act will be guilty of a misdemeanor. Penalty could be a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or a jail term up to 12 months according to Perry Michael, executive assistant to Attorney General Mike Bowers.

Pro-life activists welcomed news that the Georgia law was soon to be effective.

Peggy Sinanian, head of the archdiocesan Pro-Life Office, said she felt both the notification and the penalty provisions of the law are weak. “Parents will have to work hard to strengthen the law so that their children will not be in the hands of abortionists without their knowledge.”

Sheila Mallon, a spokesperson for Georgia Right to Life and longtime pro-life activist, is happy the bill is finally to be enforced. She is also hopeful that it can be strengthened in the 1992 session of the state assembly.

“I’m delighted that it’s been upheld. Now we plan to go back and strengthen it. It’s a lot easier to amend a bill already on the books than it is to get it passed initially.”

Mrs. Mallon finds it encouraging that in states where parental notification laws are in force, “teen pregnancies, not just abortions, have dropped.”

Mary Boyert, executive director of Georgia Right to Life, is “glad o see the law beginning to be enforced” and pointed to recent polls that “overwhelmingly support” parental notification. She mentioned the Gallup and Americans United for Life poll released Feb. 28 which report “69 percent ‘mostly favored’ a legislative proposal requiring parental consent for a minor seeking abortion.”

According to National Right to Life data, a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal (April 22) said, “over 66 percent of those surveyed showed support for parental notification, including half of those supporting abortion rights.”

The Wirthlin poll conducted for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Nov. 5, 1990, showed “67 percent agree that parental consent should be required if the woman is under 18 years of age.”

Andy Watry, executive director of the state Medial Board, said his agency would assess whether it was its responsibility to inform doctors in Georgia of the new law’s requirements. There is the possibility, he said, that such information could be included in an October mailing of license renewals.