Parental Consent and Notification
Arguments for and Against U.S. Laws on Minors and Abortions
May 3, 2007
Should a minor be able to obtain an abortion without notifying her parents, or without their consent? These questions are at the center of the controversy over U.S. parental involvement laws regarding abortion.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, forty-four states have laws on the books that require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion. State laws fall under the following categories:
- Twelve states have parental notification laws. This means that minors can have abortions without parental consent, but are required to notify at least one parent ahead of time about the decision. In Minnesota, both parents must be notified.
- Twenty-three states prohibit abortion without parental consent. Mississippi and North Dakota require the consent of both parents, and Oklahoma and Utah require both consent and notification.
- In nine states, parental involvement laws have been blocked by court order or are not enforced.
- There are no parental involvement laws on the books in six states (Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington) and in the District of Columbia.
Judges are allowed to issue court orders that permit minors to obtain abortions without parental involvement. The circumstances under which this is permitted varies by state. In West Virginia, a doctor with no financial ties to the abortion provider can also bypass parental involvement. Under certain circumstances, some states allow grandparents or other family members to be involved in an abortion decision in lieu of the parents.
Arguments in Support of Parental Involvement Laws
- Pro-life groups hope these laws will make it more difficult for young women to obtain abortions.
- Abortion is an emotional and difficult decision for many women, and parents can counsel and support their young daughters through this decision.
- Abortion is a medical procedure, and a potentially risky one. Parents should be involved in medical decisions.
- Minors do not have the same privacy rights as adults, and therefore they do not have the legal right to keep an abortion secret from their parents.
- Teenage girls can be pressured into abortions from their sexual partners. In some cases, older sexual partners may pressure young women into abortions to conceal statutory rape. Parents can help prevent this pressure.
Arguments Against Parental Involvement Laws
- Pro-choice groups oppose these laws because they see them as a means of eroding the legality of abortion as established by Roe vs. Wade.
- Parental notification calls into question right-to-privacy issues. The question over whether a minor is mature enough to make a decision about abortion is subjective and should not be legislated.
- Not all teenagers are fortunate enough to have supportive parents. Parental notification may make girls vulnerable to physical and emotional violence.
- Judicial bypass laws are problematic. They are implemented differently in each state and often are subject to the ideological leanings of a judge. In addition, judicial bypass requirements can be time-consuming. Abortions are safest when performed early in a pregnancy, so the time needed to appeal to a judge is a serious health concern.
- Parental involvement laws may increase the likelihood of illegal and dangerous “back alley” abortions.
- A study by The New York Times (March 6, 2006) found that parental involvement laws have little or no effect on either teen pregnancy or teen abortion rates. In some cases, parental involvement may lead to added pressure from parents to get abortions.
Where It Stands
The U.S. Supreme Court has established that parental involvement laws are constitutional and up to the discretion of the states. These laws can be changed much more easily than major court decisions such as Roe vs. Wade. Because of this, pro-life groups continue to fight to preserve and expand these laws, and pro-choice groups continue to fight them.
