It was a law that made nation-wide news last year: a law in New Hampshire required underage girls to get parental consent prior to receiving an abortion, even when the life and health of the underage mother was at risk.

The law was challenged as unconstitutional, and it made its way all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.  I wrote a length post discussing the background of the case here.  The decision, which was highly technical and didn’t really resolve the underlying issue, is discussed in my post here.

With the Democratic "revolution" in New Hampshire in the 2006 elections, the law — which has never gone into effect, but is still technically on the books — was doomed to be repealed.  And today, the first step toward repeal has happened:

The New Hampshire House today voted to repeal the state’s law requiring that a parent be notified before a minor daughter can have an abortion.

The House voted 226-130 to repeal the 2003 law, which has been appealed as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. The courts ruled the law is flawed because it was unclear how the Legislature intended to protect the health of a girl in an emergency.

The bill, HB 184, moves to over the state Senate next, where it is expected to pass. Gov. John Lynch has said he favors the repeal.