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Anyone heard about this? I read it in The Universe at the weekend; The Catholic Newspaper and haven’t seen it mentioned here so far: -
Teen-age girls in Texas are having fewer abortions following enforcement of a law that forces doctors to tell a parent if their daughter wants to terminate her pregnancy, new research shows.
But the law has also increased the birth rate among older white teens and forced some girls to delay the procedure, increasing its risk.
A study published in this week’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine found that abortion rates in Texas have dropped 11 percent among 15-year olds, 20 percent among 16-year olds, and 16 percent among 17-year olds since the law took effect in 2000.
The estimates have been adjusted for the fact that birth and abortion rates among teens were already declining before the law took effect, the researchers said.
The findings show that the law has probably succeeded in reducing abortion rates among children, said the study leader, Theodore Joyce, a professor at the City University of New York.
Texas law forbids girls who are less than 18 years old to have an abortion until 48 hours after her physician has notified a parent that he has agreed to end the pregnancy.
The study found that many girls who become pregnant close to their eighteenth birthday put off the abortion until they turn 18 so they can avoid the notification requirement. But the delay “just makes more difficult, more expensive and potentially more risky,” Joyce said.
Full Article
Teen-age girls in Texas are having fewer abortions following enforcement of a law that forces doctors to tell a parent if their daughter wants to terminate her pregnancy, new research shows.
But the law has also increased the birth rate among older white teens and forced some girls to delay the procedure, increasing its risk.
A study published in this week’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine found that abortion rates in Texas have dropped 11 percent among 15-year olds, 20 percent among 16-year olds, and 16 percent among 17-year olds since the law took effect in 2000.
The estimates have been adjusted for the fact that birth and abortion rates among teens were already declining before the law took effect, the researchers said.
The findings show that the law has probably succeeded in reducing abortion rates among children, said the study leader, Theodore Joyce, a professor at the City University of New York.
Texas law forbids girls who are less than 18 years old to have an abortion until 48 hours after her physician has notified a parent that he has agreed to end the pregnancy.
The study found that many girls who become pregnant close to their eighteenth birthday put off the abortion until they turn 18 so they can avoid the notification requirement. But the delay “just makes more difficult, more expensive and potentially more risky,” Joyce said.
Full Article