[JURIST] The New Hampshire State Senate voted 15-9 [press release] Thursday to repeal [HB 184 text] a 2003 law requiring parental notification [text] for minors seeking an abortion [JURIST news archive]. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch [official website] has indicated that he will sign the bill, which was initially passed in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on March 21 by a vote of 217-141.

New Hampshire's notification law, which was initially struck down [opinion] by the the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit because it did not contain a medical exception to protect the health of the minor, was subsequently considered [JURIST report] by the US Supreme Court [official website]. The Court vacated the lower court ruling [JURIST report] in 2006 and remanded the case, holding [opinion] that

if enforcing a statute that regulates access to abortion would be unconstitutional in medical emergencies, invalidating the statute entirely is not always necessary or justified, for lower courts may be able to render a narrower declaratory and injunctive relief.