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They contend, however, that notification laws ignore the reality that some minors, including those pregnant as a result of rape, or incest, girls trapped in abusive homes, or struggling to survive as runaways are unwilling or unable to communicate with their parents for compelling reasons. Opponents also point out that more than half of pregnant teens voluntarily involve their parents in the decision to choose, or not choose an abortion. These delays occur, they claim, because teens are paralyzed by fear of parental reaction, or because teens deliberately wait until their eighteenth birthdays, which mark the age of consent for an abortion, according to most state laws. Many believe that notification and consent requirements have produced an increase in the number of teens delaying abortions until the later stages of pregnancy. Opponents of notification laws counter that there is little clinical evidence that parental notification decreases the likelihood of adolescent sexual behavior. Confidential access to abortion services, advocates claim, makes teens more likely to engage in sexual activities. Moreover, many advocates believe that notification and consent requirements have reduced the numbers of teen abortions, as well as teen pregnancies. They also argue that parents’ responsibilities to oversee their children’s health outweigh teens’ right to privacy. They say that most teenage girls are unprepared to deal with the physical and psychological effects of abortion. Most of these state laws also contain the so-called judicial bypass option, by which a young woman can petition a judge, bypassing her parents, for permission to consent to an abortion.Īdvocates argue that notification laws enhance family communication and promote the health and best interests of minors. As of 2008, thirty-six states have adopted laws requiring minors to obtain consent from, or to notify one or both parents prior to an abortion, but in nine of those states, the laws are not enforced. Although women aged nineteen and younger account for a relatively small share (less than 20 percent) of the approximately 1.2 million abortions performed every year in the United States, their legal status as minors has made them a focal point in reproductive policy debates.