by JivinJ, host of the blog, JivinJehoshaphat

• A judge has upheld AK’s parental notification law while stripping the law of its teeth:

  Superior Court Judge John Suddock wrote in his decision Monday evening that physicians should not go to jail for failing to comply with the new law, which requires doctors to notify a parent before performing an abortion on girls younger than 18….

  But groups that support the original law, like the Alaska Family Council say the judges ruling makes the law worthless because people who violate it can’t be punished.

  “What’s the incentive for a physician? It’s basically a suggestion. It’s an Alaska State Suggestion now, under the judge,” says Jim Minnery with the AFC.

• Politico has a piece about the likelihood of pro-life legislation at the state level:

  “We did see, as a result of the election, a significant change in the composition of statehouses,” said Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Our state affiliates are definitely expecting to be in for the fight of their lives.”

  Here’s what a Center for Reproductive Rights spokeswoman had to say about fetal pain laws which are being introduced left and right:

  “We are looking for the right case and will file a challenge when the circumstances are appropriate,” Dionne Scott, a spokeswoman for the CRR, wrote in e-mail. Scott declined to comment on why the group has not challenged the Nebraska law because the center does not discuss legal strategies of specific cases.