Alaska’s Frost Lady Sarah Palin says a new abortion bill that would generally require parental consent and notification before girls under age 17 could get an abortion actually protects children in her state. At a press conference, Gov GILF said:

Wherever you fall on the abortion issue, right or left, this legislation is about family, and it’s about parents’ rights and protecting our children, and it’s supported by legislators on both sides of the aisle.

In 2007 the Alaska State Supreme Court overturned  similar bill what had passed in 1997. The new bill differs slightly in that it requires notice to and the consent of a parent, guardian or custodian. The logic of the bill’s author, Rep. John Coghill from North Pole, Alaska is that if the court strikes down the consent provision, the notification clause could stay in place. Parents then would not have to give permission but would be made aware of the abortion before it happens.

Coghill also added a provision which allows teens to go to court to bypass parental permission, and  teens who live on their own or are married would not require parental permission.

One of the three Alaska Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the previous law has stepped down and has been replaced by Palin’s choice, and another will soon be  replaced by a Palin appointee. Palin seemed hopeful that her appointees would stand up to challenges to the bill:

Thankfully we know we can think optimistically about a court perhaps changing its mind, changing its opinion. Courts revisit their decisions all the time and if they did not, then we would still be in a society that allows segregated schools.

Palin did not explain how this bill would protect children, but she did add one of her homespun homilies telling reporters that:

when her son, Track, dislocated his shoulder playing hockey a couple of years ago, he couldn’t get any treatment or even a drink of water until she got to the emergency room.

"Here he’s a 17-year-old boy not being able to get a cup of water without Mom or Dad being there to say ‘yeah, it’s OK, you’ve notified me.’ "