Background

Debate

Safety Considerations

• Some medical professionals feel that parental involvement laws push young women towards dangerous practices, such as delaying abortion or trying to induce a miscarriage.

• Other professionals feel that parental involvement laws improve women's safety. They reason that if parents are without knowledge of the abortion, the woman is less likely to receive prompt, effective treatment in the event of a complication.

  Family Considerations

• Abortion rights activists argue that parental involvement laws are unfair to young women living in abusive homes and may compromise their safety. Addressing this concern, the Supreme Court has mandated that all parental involvement laws include a judicial bypass clause.

• Parents' rights advocates argue that allowing a girl to obtain an abortion without a parent's knowledge severely undermines the parent-child relationship. In particular, they believe that parents have the right to be involved in their children's medical decisions. John Pinkerton notes that "Parents must give consent before their child can have their ears pierced or a tattoo put on. In fact, in public schools and emergency rooms, parents must give consent before their child can be treated with so much as an aspirin. Most voters agree that it is outrageous to allow a child to undergo any surgical procedure, let alone an invasive, irreversible procedure such as an abortion, without parental notification."(Source: ReligiousTolerance.org)

Country Comparison

Recent Developments and Legislation