Nova Health Systems v. Gandy, No. 02-5094 (10th Cir. Nov. 3, 2004)

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an abortion provider did not have standing to challenge an Oklahoma statute that imposed liability on abortion providers for the cost of medical care to treat injuries suffered during procedures that are performed without parental consent. The abortion provider claimed that the statute caused it to turn away minors who, for various reasons, could not obtain parental consent. The court of appeals ruled that, as of the enactment of the statute, the abortion provider did not face a concrete, actual or imminent injury that was caused by the defendants and a favorable judicial order would not redress its injury. The court found that there was no concrete evidence that, but for the defendants' actions, the abortion provider's propensity to lose minor patients would be different. Also, there was evidence that the abortion provider stopped performing abortions absent parental consent prior to the enactment of the statute and not due to any actions of the public officials being sued.