‘Informed Consent’ Abortion Law Requiring Warning of Suicide Risk Upheld

A South Dakota law requiring written disclosure to patients seeking abortions of an “increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide” does not unduly burden abortion rights or violate physicians’ First Amendment right to be free from compelled speech, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled en banc July 24 (Planned Parenthood Minn., N.D., S.D. v. Rounds, 8th Cir. en banc, Nos. 09-3231, 3233, 3362).

Planned Parenthood challenged the statute, arguing that it required the disclosure of an unproven causal link between abortion and suicide. Judge Raymond W. Gruender, writing for the majority, rejected that ...