The Impact of Parental Involvement Laws on the Abortion Rate of Minors

Abstract

In this article, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effect of parental involvement (PI) laws on the incidence of abortions to minors in the United States. We contribute to the extant literature in several ways. First, we explore differences in estimates of the effect of PI laws across time that may result from changes in contraception, the composition of pregnant minors, abortion access in nearby states, and differences in how these laws are enforced. We find that PI laws enacted before the mid-1990s are associated with a 15% to 20% reduction in abortions to minors, but PI laws enacted after this time are not associated with declines in abortions to minors. Second, we assess the role of out-of-state travel by minors and find that it is not a significant factor moderating the effect of PI laws. Third, we use a synthetic control approach to explore state-level heterogeneity in the effect of PI laws and find large differences in the effect of PI laws on abortions to minors by state that appear unrelated to the type of PI law or whether contiguous states have enacted PI laws. Finally, we show that estimates of the effect of PI laws using data from either the Centers for Disease Control or the Guttmacher Institute do not differ qualitatively once differences in the states and years available across these data are harmonized.

The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescents and Young Adults During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

“…Evidence from earlier state efforts to limit minors' access to abortion showed that the distance to providers is a significant barrier. 25 For minors who need an alternative to meeting parental permission requirements, the process of obtaining a judicial bypass has become even more complicated and burdensome during the pandemic. Although most adolescents who decide to terminate their pregnancy involve a parent, 26 others fear that their parents will react with violence or kick them out of their home.…”

Measuring the Burden: The Effect of Travel Distance on Abortions and Births

“…An extensive economics literature credibly exploiting natural experiments indicates that the liberalization of abortion policies in the 1960s and 1970s had profound effects in reducing fertility and delaying family formation (Angrist and Evans, 2001;Myers, 2017) and likely influenced socioeconomic outcomes for women and children (Gruber et al, 1999;Angrist and Evans, 2001;Kalist, 2004;Ananat et al, 2007). The economics literature indicates that in the fifty years since Roe, abortion and birth outcomes have been influenced by demand-side restrictions requiring parental involvement for minors seeking abortions (Levine, 2003;Joyce and Kaestner, 2020;Myers and Ladd, 2020) and mandatory waiting periods for abortions (Joyce et al, 1997;Joyce and Kaestner, 2001;Joyce et al, 2006;Lindo and Pineda-Torres, 2019;Myers, 2021).…”

Should Physicians Elicit Parental Permission before Providing Termination of Pregnancy to All Adolescent Patients?

“…A comprehensive analysis of the effect of parental involvement (PI) laws on the incidence of abortions to minors in the United States showed that PI laws, enacted before the mid-1990s are associated with a 15% to 20% reduction in abortions to minors. However, after this time, the adoption of PI laws had little effect, on average, on abortions to minors (18).…”