Judge Seen as Conservative, Fair

Five years ago, the Texas high court was torn over how to interpret a new state abortion law that said parents had to be notified before their daughters had an abortion, except when this notification "may lead to physical, sexual or emotional abuse of the minor." In such instances, a judge could allow the girl to bypass the notification law if she was "mature and sufficiently well-informed" to make the abortion decision on her own.

In a series of "Jane Doe" cases, the Texas justices were split. In one 5-4 decision, the court -- including Phillips -- overruled a judge who had blocked a 17-year-old from getting an abortion without notifying a parent. The majority said the girl had considered the alternatives and had demonstrated maturity.

Owen dissented. She said the high court should have upheld the judge who questioned the girl and decided she was not sufficiently mature to decide on her own. State lawmakers assumed that parents would be notified in all but rare cases, she said.

Then-Justice Alberto R. Gonzales, now the U.S. attorney general, voted with the majority and agreed that the trial judge did not have good evidence for turning down the girl's request. It "would be an unconscionable act of judicial activism ... to create hurdles that simply are not to be found in the words of the statute," he wrote.

Although his words were not addressed to Owen or any other individual dissenters, they often were cited as evidence that he meant to call her a "judicial activist."

Linda S. Eads, a law professor at Southern Methodist University, said Owen had been unfairly tarnished by the dispute.

"I'm pro-choice, and I support the judicial bypass [for minors], but I think the parental abortion decisions have been grossly mischaracterized," Eads said. "This was a new law, and the legislation had not defined 'informed consent,' and the court had to struggle over the standard."

Owen's "standard was more strict than some of the others, but it was not shocking," Eads said. "It was reasonable and judge-like."

Eads, who said Owen voted Democratic more often than Republican, added: "I read a lot of her opinions, and I disagreed with some of them. But I never read an opinion where I thought she distorted the law. She is conservative, but everyone on that court is conservative."

There are plenty of pro-business rulings in Owen's past.