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FAST FACTS ABOUT ANTI-CHOICE ISSUES:

FAST FACTS ABOUT PRO-CHOICE ISSUES:

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Fast Facts

Restrictions on Young Women's Access to Abortion

How are abortion restrictions dangerous to young women's safety?

Most young women talk with at least one parent when facing an unintended pregnancy.  But some young women feel for various reasons—including abuse, rape, or incest—that they cannot tell a parent that they are pregnant.  Of course, most parents hope their daughters will seek out their advice, but responsible parents want, above all, for their daughters to be safe.  Restrictions on young women's access to abortion care can lead to family violence when a young woman must tell an abusive parent about her decision to end a pregnancy, and can delay young women from seeking earlier, safer abortion care, thus putting their health at risk.

CURRENT STATE LAWS

43 states restrict young women's access to abortion by mandating parental notice or consent:  AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI, WY.

  • 7 of these laws have been found unconstitutional and unenforceable:  AK, CA, IL, MT, NV, NJ, NM.

2007 STATE LEGISLATION

17 states considered 35 measures that would restrict young women's access to abortion services by requiring parental notice or consent before a young woman may have an abortion or by making existing laws with those requirements even harsher:  AZ, CT, FL, HI, MS, MT, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, UT, VT, WA, WV.

  • New Hampshire repealed its parental notification law.

2007 FEDERAL LEGISLATION

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives reintroduced the so-called "Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act," which would impose a complex patchwork of parental involvement laws on states, doctors, and young women.  The bill also imposes criminal penalties on anyone other than a parent—including a grandparent or minister—who accompanies a young woman across state lines for abortion care if requirements of the home state's parental involvement law have not been met.

For a map of all states with Restrictions on Young Women's Access to Abortion - click here.

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