A new study finds that pro-life laws such as parental notification or consent reduced the abortion rate on teenage girls by more than 50 percent. Dr. Michael New says that parental involvement laws passed in the 1990s resulted in a "dramatic decrease in the incidence of abortion among minors."In 1985, 13.5 abortions were performed on minors for every 1,000 girls between the ages of 13 and 17. By 1999, the abortion rate for minors had fallen by over 50 percent to 6.5 per 1,000 teenage girls ages 13 to 17. New, a political science professor at the University of Alabama, points out that only 20 states enforced parental involvement statutes in 1992 but that number increased to 32 by 2000. Dr. New said that a strong economy and an increase in teenagers abstaining from sexual relations likely contributed to the decline. But, "pro-life legislation enacted during the 1990s, particularly parental involvement laws intended to influence minors, were effective in reducing abortion."
According to Dr. New's study, parental involvement laws reduced the minor abortion rate by an average of 1.67 abortions per 1,000 females between the ages of 13 and 17. In addition, restrictions on the use of state taxpayer funds through Medicaid reduced the minor abortion rate by an average of 2.34 abortions per 1,000 females between the ages of 13 and 17. Specifically, the passage of a parental involvement law correlates with a 16 percent decline in the minor abortion rate, and the passage of Medicaid funding restrictions correlates with a 23 percent decline in the minor abortion rate. "The results of two natural experiments indicate that pro-life legislation ... is responsible for the declines in abortion," New said...
There's more in this Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com story.
