The state of Alaska will pay $1 million in legal costs to Planned Parenthood after losing a lawsuit over a 2010 voter initiative that required doctors to give two days notice to parents before performing abortions on girls under 18.
While the initiative passed with 56 percent of the vote six years ago, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in July, saying it violates the Alaska Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Justice Daniel Winfree said at the time that the initiative discriminates because it involves the state in decisions by pregnant girls who seek an abortion — and it keeps the state out of the lives of pregnant girls who decide to carry their babies to term.
Under Alaska law, the winners of a constitutional claim are entitled “full reasonable attorney fees and costs,” and Superior Court judge John Suddock signed a $995,000 settlement on Wednesday.
Chief Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh, speaking to the Alaska Dispatch News, said the state could have fought the amount, but it would have risked paying more, and it would have had to pay for the cost of the challenge.
The settlement is contingent upon the Alaska Legislature appropriating sufficient funds in next year’s budget.
