— In an urgent effort to allow a woman access to her legal right to obtain an abortion, an Emergency Appeal was filed in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. The woman was scheduled to obtain an abortion two days ago when her ex-boyfriend filed a lawsuit to force her to carry the pregnancy to term. In complete disregard of legal precedent, the trial court granted the injunction, and at yesterday’s hearing Judge Michael Conahan ordered attorneys to submit additional legal papers on Monday, August 5, 2002. The injunction remains in effect indefinitely.
"We hope this appeal will overturn the injunction and bring the rule of law back to Pennsylvania. The lower court’s injunction shows complete disregard for legal precedent. It is not only unconstitutional but also forces my client to endure unnecessary suffering," said Linda Rosenthal, a staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights and lead counsel on the case. "No person--not an abusive ex-boyfriend and not a state court trial judge--has the right to veto an adult woman’s decision to terminate her first-trimester pregnancy," added Rosenthal.
The Pennsylvania woman, 22 and the mother of a two-year-old considered all of her options before making the decision to terminate the pregnancy. Her former boyfriend, John Stachokus, repeatedly threatened her physical safety and as a result there is a Temporary Protection from Abuse Order in effect against him.
U.S. Supreme Court precedent establishes that a pregnant woman’s right to privacy precludes anyone from preventing her from terminating a pregnancy prior to viability of the fetus. In 1976, the Court first held that a statute requiring spousal consent before a woman could obtain an abortion violated the right to choose previously established in Roe v. Wade. The Court reiterated its ruling in the 1992 Casey decision and emphasized that the man’s interest in the fetus could never outweigh the pregnant woman’s liberty interest.
Representing the respondent in the case Stachokus v. Meyers are Linda Rosenthal and Adrienne Lockie of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and local counsel Brian Cali. The Women's Law Project is co-counsel in the case.
