Parental Consent Laws
In Massachusetts, a woman under the age of 18 seeking an abortion is required to obtain the consent of one parent, or to get a waiver from a judge.
Healthy family communication is vital, but government mandates have unintended consequences.
Loving parents should unquestionably be involved when a daughter faces an unintended pregnancy. Every parent hopes that a child confronting a crisis will seek the advice and counsel of those who care for her most and know her best. In fact, most young women do turn to their parents when considering an abortion, even in the absence of laws mandating parental involvement. Unfortunately, though, some young women cannot discuss this issue with their parents. They may live in situations where there is violence and emotional abuse or their pregnancies may be the result of incest. In other cases, young women may not realize how supportive their parents can be. In some circumstances, teens facing a crises pregnancy travel to another state with less stringent parental involvement law, or no such law at all, to avoid telling their parents.
Mandatory parental consent laws harm young women.
• Laws requiring parental notice or consent actually harm the young women they purport to protect by increasing family violence, suicide, illegal and self-induced abortion, later abortions, and unwanted childbirth. Abortion should be made less necessary, not more difficult and dangerous.
• The American Medical Association opposes mandatory parental consent laws:
"Because the need for privacy may be compelling, minors may be driven to desperate measures to maintain the confidentiality of their pregnancies. They may run away from home, obtain a 'back alley' abortion, or resort to self-induced abortion. The desire to maintain secrecy has been one of the leading reasons for illegal abortion deaths since…1973."
• The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes parental involvement laws:
"Legislation mandating parental involvement does not achieve the intended benefit of promoting family communication but it does increase the risk of harm to the adolescent by delaying access to appropriate medical care…Minors should not be compelled or required to involve their parents in their decisions to obtain abortions, although they should be encouraged to discuss their pregnancies with their parents and other responsible adults."
Mandatory parental consent laws for abortion are inconsistent with other state laws.
Massachusetts already requires a minor’s consent for prenatal care, giving birth, STD treatment, treatment for drug abuse, outpatient and mental health services; obtaining medical care for a child, and placing a child for adoption.
Judicial bypass provisions fail to protect young women.
• For young women, going to court to obtain a judicial order can be intimidating, overwhelming and at times impossible. Barriers that teens face in the judicial bypass process include hearings scheduled during school hours; fear, intimidation and distress of having to present her case in Superior Court – not Family or Juvenile Court; and finding transportation while trying to maintain secrecy and confidentiality throughout the process.
• Since 1986, there have been no judicial bypass denials in Massachusetts – meaning that women who have gone through the judicial bypass process have been found mature and been allowed to have an abortion. But the time required to schedule the court proceeding may result in delays of a week or more, increasing the health risks of the abortion and the cost of medical care.
The Solution to the Problem:
Abortion should be made less necessary, not more difficult and dangerous. Prevention is the key. A comprehensive approach – promoting adolescent reproductive health and education – is needed to reduce teen pregnancy rates. Complicated, burdensome restrictions on minors seeking abortion services increase the minor’s risk of harm by delaying access to appropriate medical care. Restrictions could be eased by allowing other responsible adults, such as a grandparent, counselor, or adult sibling to provide legal consent.
Updated 5/25/2006
1 American Medical Association, Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, “Mandatory Parental Consent to Abortion,” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 269, no. 1 (Jan. 6, 1993): 83.
2 American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Adolescence, “The Adolescent’s Right to Confidential Care When Considering Abortion,” Pediatrics, vol. 97, no. 5 (May 1996): 746.
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