Parental notification is the legal requirement that one or more parents be notified (and, typically, give consent) before their minor daughter may have an abortion.

Legal background

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Because these laws are supported by pro-life groups such as the NRLC, and would allow parents to prevent their minor daughter from having an abortion, many pro-choice groups, such as NARAL and Planned Parenthood, see the laws as a way for pro-life advocates to gain a partial victory in restricting reproductive rights, though not all people who self-identify as pro-choice oppose parental notification laws.

In the United States, the 2006 Supreme Court case Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England affirmed that a state can require parental notification, so long as a provision is made for judges to override the requirement in individual cases. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court struck down a similar law that required spousal notification.

Arguments in support of parental notification

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Advocacy groups have made a number of arguments in favor of parental notification.^*

• Minors must have parental approval for most types of medical procedures.

• The pregnant minor might be pressured into having an abortion by an older boyfriend, so as to conceal the fact that he is guilty of statutory rape.

• Currently, the parents of the minor are financially responsible for any complications resulting from the abortion.

• Notification and consent laws give parents a chance to counsel their teenage daughters about the possible consequences of abortion. ^*

Arguments against parental notification

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Advocacy groups on the other side have also made a number of arguments against parental notification:

• Abortion restrictions are dangerous to young women's health, as young women who feel they cannot talk to their parents about their sex lives or about rape or incest that they may have suffered may seek illegal abortions as a result.^*

• Total abortion rates among teenagers are not affected by parental notification laws, as teenagers will often travel to a nearby state to have an abortion.^*

• Most professional medical societies oppose parental notification laws.^*

• In general, the only situation where a minor would not consult her parents about an abortion is in a dysfunctional family situation, where the minor's parents lack the basic competence to be entrusted with the decision about the minor's pregnancy.^*

External links

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For

• Parental Notification Initiative
• NRLC

Against

• NARAL
• Planned Parenthood

Abortion law