Parental Involvement Laws and Minor and Non-Minor Teen Abortion and Birth Rates

Abstract

The effects of parental notice and consent laws on abortion and birth rates were analyzed for two groups of teens: those 15 to 17 years old (i.e., minor teens) and those 18 to 19 years old (i.e., non-minor teens). Twelve states report abortion and birth statistics at the county level for these two age groups. The sample consists of 597 counties from these twelve states. Residence county abortion and birth rates were regressed against parental notice laws, parental consent laws, and several control variables (i.e., type of state public funding, population density, education and income levels, unemployment rate, family stability, extent of poverty, church membership, and geographic region). An important finding of this study is that both parental consent and notification laws were related to significantly lower abortion rates and to significantly higher birth rates for both minor and non-minor teens. Three measures (i.e., church membership, family stability, and education level) were related negatively and significantly to minor and non-minor teens' abortion rates and birth rates. One other measure (i.e., restrictive public funding) was related significantly to lower abortion rates and higher birth rates for minor and non-minor teens.