Opinion ID: 526550
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Familial Relations

Text: 17 The second cause of action alleges that the defendants wrongfully coerced the minors to refrain from consulting with their parents prior to determining whether to proceed with the abortion and that this unconstitutionally interfered with the right of privacy existing between the plaintiffs and their children. We find that a parent's constitutional right to direct the upbringing of a minor is violated when the minor is coerced to refrain from discussing with the parent an intimate decision such as whether to obtain an abortion; a decision which touches fundamental values and religious beliefs parents wish to instill in their children. Hence, the complaint sufficiently states a cause of action for invasion in the familial right to privacy on behalf of Charles Davis, the father of Jane Doe and Helen Arnold, the mother of John Doe. 18 As designed to secure individual liberty, the Bill of Rights must afford the formation and preservation of certain personal relationships a substantial measure of sanctuary from unjustified interference by the government. Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609, 618, 104 S.Ct. 3244, 3249, 82 L.Ed.2d 462 (1984). The family unit generates just the type of highly personal relationships deserving of this constitutional sanctuary. Family relationships by their nature involve deep attachments and commitments to the necessarily few other individuals with whom one shares not only a special community of thoughts, experiences, and beliefs but also distinctly personal aspects of one's life. Id. For this reason, the Constitution protects a private realm of family life which the state cannot enter without compelling justification. Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166, 64 S.Ct. 438, 442, 88 L.Ed. 645 (1944). Within the constitutionally protected realm rests the parental freedom to inculcate one's children with values and standards which the parents deem desirable. Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160, 177, 96 S.Ct. 2586, 2597, 49 L.Ed.2d 415 (1976). Indeed, parents have the right to decide free from unjustified governmental interference matters concerning the growth, development and upbringing of their children. 19 The Supreme Court has addressed this right in cases involving parent-state conflicts in the areas of medical care and education. For instance, in Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923), the Supreme Court held that a state could not prohibit the teaching of a foreign language in private schools because the statute improperly infringed upon the liberty of both parents and teachers to make educational decisions. In Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 45 S.Ct. 571, 69 L.Ed. 1070 (1925), the Court held that a state could not effectively ban parochial or private schools by requiring parents to send their children to government operated schools. The Court stated that [i]t is not seriously debatable that the parental right to guide one's child intellectually and religiously is a most substantial part of the liberty and freedom of the parent. Id. at 518. More recently, in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972), the Supreme Court held that the state's interest in universal education is not absolute. Rather, when the state impinges upon fundamental rights, such as those protected by the free exercise clause of the first amendment and the traditional interest of parents with respect to the religious upbringing of their children, the state interests must be balanced against the interests of the parent. The Court declined to enforce the Wisconsin compulsory formal education requirement after the eighth grade where to do so would infringe upon the free exercise of the Amish religion and intrude on the fundamental interest of parents ... to guide the religious future and education of their children. Id. at 232, 92 S.Ct. at 1541. See also Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 99 S.Ct. 2493, 61 L.Ed.2d 101 (1979) (established the parental right to decide whether to commit one's own child to a mental institution). 20 These cases demonstrate a willingness to protect from unjustified state interference the parental right to structure the education and religious beliefs of one's children. Likewise, in this case we encounter a state intrusion on this parental right. Coercing a minor to obtain an abortion or to assist in procuring an abortion and to refrain from discussing the matter with the parents unduly interferes with parental authority in the household and with the parental responsibility to direct the rearing of their child. This deprives the parents of the opportunity to counter influences on the child the parents find inimical to their religious beliefs or the values they wish instilled in their children. 10 21 We recognize that parental autonomy to direct the education of one's children is not beyond limitation. Prince, 321 U.S. 158, 64 S.Ct. 438. When parents enroll their children in public schools they cannot demand that the educational program be tailored to their individual preferences. Roman v. Appleby, 558 F.Supp. 449, 456 (E.D.Penn.1983). Instead, a reasonable accommodation must be found by balancing the traditional rights of parents in the rearing of their children and the interest of the state in controlling public schools. While counseling intrudes somewhat on parental control over a child, we acknowledge the important role a guidance counselor plays as a trusted confidant of many students. Counselors possess first amendment rights to free speech and we do not seek to curtail the beneficial use of counseling. 22 Further, we are not, as appellees argue, constitutionally mandating that counselors notify the parents of a minor who receives counseling regarding pregnancy. We hold merely that the counselors must not coerce minors to refrain from communicating with their parents. The decision whether to seek parental guidance, absent law to the contrary, should rest within the discretion of the minor. As a matter of common sense, not constitutional duty, school counselors should encourage communication with parents regarding difficult decisions such as the one involved here. There can be little doubt that the State furthers a constitutionally permissible end by encouraging an unmarried pregnant minor to seek the help and advice of her parents in making the very important decision of whether to have a child. Danforth, 428 U.S. at 91, 96 S.Ct. at 2851 (Stewart, J., concurring); Belloti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 640, 99 S.Ct. 3035, 3046, 61 L.Ed.2d 797 (1979). The law's concept of the family presumes that parents possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience and capacity for judgment. Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 602, 99 S.Ct. 2493, 2504, 61 L.Ed.2d 101 (1979). Parental consultation is particularly desirable regarding the abortion decision since for some the situation raises profound moral and religious concerns. Belloti, 443 U.S. at 640, 99 S.Ct. at 3046.