How consent laws affect abortions
A new study shows that parental notification laws have reduced the
abortion rate among teens in Texas
Time
Thursday, Mar. 09, 2006
By SORA SONG
Do parental notification and consent laws, which require girls under
the age of 18 to tell their parents or get their permission in order to
have an abortion, actually reduce the teen abortion rate? Previous
scientific studies — and one analysis this week by the New York Times —
have cast doubt on the impact of such laws. But researchers writing in
the latest New England Journal of Medicine report that in Texas at
least, such laws have reduced the abortion rate significantly.
What's more, the study is the first to also show an increase in the
number of births among teenage mothers, in this case 17 1/2 year-olds.
But the study has some disturbing news for supporters of the
notification laws: 17-year-olds in the study had a higher rate of
second-trimester abortions, which are both riskier and more ethically
charged than abortions done in the early weeks of pregnancy.
In their study, researchers at the City University of New York
collected specific age data from birth and abortion certificates filed
in Texas between 1997 and 2003 — before and after the state's parental
notification law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2000. They chose Texas
because it is the largest and most populous of the 35 states that
enforce consent or notification laws, and its sheer size makes it
difficult for minors to cross the border to get abortions in another
state.
Overall, researchers found, teen abortion rates dropped in the wake of
the new law. Abortion rates have been falling generally across the
nation. But when compared to the rate among 18-year-olds, abortion
rates fell 11% in girls aged 15 at the time of conception; 20% in
16-year-olds; and 16% in 17-year-olds. Contrary to what might be
expected, birth rates for 15- and 16-year-old teens also declined —
suggesting that these teens are either having less sex or practicing
better birth control.
The study took a careful look at girls who were 17 1/2 years, because
past studies have indicated that older teens are less likely to
communicate with parents about abortion than younger teens and are
therefore "more likely to be affected by parental involvement laws,"
according to the authors. Abortion rates in this group fell 16%
compared to 18-year-olds, and the rate of births also increased, by 4%.
But the rate of second-trimester abortions rose 34% among this group,
suggesting that girls who pursued abortions waited until their 18th
birthday to sidestep the law — a result that may not cheer
anti-abortion activists who might otherwise be heartened by the
survey's findings.