Parental Consent/Notification
States create a serious barrier through parental consent and notification policies. These laws require involving one or both parents in a minor’s decision to terminate a pregnancy and often serve to limit young women’s access to abortion.1 Such requirements can endanger the health of young women—some may delay the procedure, and others may travel alone to another state to secure the abortion.2
The Affordable Care Act expressly does not pre-empt state laws regarding parental involvement for minors' abortions.
Does the state allow minors to obtain abortions without requiring parental consent or notification?
States receive a "meets policy" if there is no enforceable parental involvement law. States receive a "weak policy" if they have parental involvement laws, but allow the physician who will perform the abortion to waive parental involvement if certain specified conditions are met. States receive a "harmful policy" if they have parental consent and/or notification laws and do not allow this type of waiver.
| State | Strength of Policy | Change from 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Alaska 3 | Harmful Policy | Worse |
| Arizona | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Arkansas | Harmful Policy | Same |
| California | Meets Policy | Same |
| Colorado | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Connecticut | Meets Policy | Same |
| Delaware | Harmful Policy | Same |
| District of Columbia | Meets Policy | Same |
| Florida | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Georgia | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Hawaii | Meets Policy | Same |
| Idaho | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Illinois | Meets Policy | Same |
| Indiana | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Iowa | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Kansas | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Kentucky | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Louisiana | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Maine | Weak Policy | Same |
| Maryland | Weak Policy | Same |
| Massachusetts | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Michigan | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Minnesota | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Mississippi | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Missouri | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Montana | Meets Policy | Same |
| Nebraska | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Nevada | Meets Policy | Same |
| New Hampshire | Meets Policy | Same |
| New Jersey | Meets Policy | Same |
| New Mexico | Meets Policy | Same |
| New York | Meets Policy | Same |
| North Carolina | Harmful Policy | Same |
| North Dakota | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Ohio | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Oklahoma | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Oregon | Meets Policy | Same |
| Pennsylvania | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Rhode Island | Harmful Policy | Same |
| South Carolina | Harmful Policy | Same |
| South Dakota | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Tennessee | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Texas | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Utah | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Vermont | Meets Policy | Same |
| Virginia | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Washington | Meets Policy | Same |
| West Virginia | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Wisconsin | Harmful Policy | Same |
| Wyoming | Harmful Policy | Same |
Data Sources: 1) NARAL Pro-Choice America, Who Decides? The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States, “Restrictions on Young Women's Access to Abortion,” January 2010, available at http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/what-is-choice/fast-facts/young-women.html, accessed September 8, 2010; 2) Guttmacher Institute, "State Policies in Brief: Parental Involvement in Minors' Abortions," September 2010, available at http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_PIMA.pdf, accessed September 8, 2010.
Footnotes
1 Some states also allow other adult relatives to give consent or receive notice. NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides? A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights Executive Summary, 16th ed. (Washington: NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, 2006), available at http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/publications/who-decides/, accessed September 2, 2010.
2 NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides 16th Edition, “Restrictions on Young Women’s Access to Abortion,” available at http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/what-is-choice/fast-facts/young-women.html, accessed September 2, 2010.
3 Alaska's parental notification law takes effect in December 2010.
