The law, which doesn't require permission from those relatives, allows local courts to grant exceptions to the notification requirement if the girls are ruled to be "mature and well-informed," said Lorie Chaiten, director of the Chicago-based American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois' reproductive rights project.

If a judge isn't able to make that finding, the judge still can grant the teenager a waiver if "it would be in her best interest to move forward without parental notification," Chaiten said. The teen, in this situation, could argue that she doesn't get along with her parents and fears she would be kicked out of the house if she had to notify her parents, Chaiten said.

creates unnecessary, dangerous hurdles to accessing essential health care for young women facing an unintended pregnancy in the State of Illinois. In the decades while this law (and its predecessors) were not enforced, we know that most young women in Illinois consulted with a parent or guardian when making the difficult decision about whether to continue a pregnancy. In those instances where young women did not tell a parent, often because of fear of abuse or neglect, most consulted with a trusted adult family member.