Impact of Parental Notification on Illinois Minors Seeking Abortion
PURPOSE:
To
describe the impact of the Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Act on
minors presenting for first-trimester abortion at an urban clinic in Chicago,
Illinois.
METHODS:
Descriptive,
retrospective review looked at minors obtaining a first-trimester abortion at
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital Reproductive Health Services during the
12 months prior (August 15, 2012-August 14, 2013) and after (August 15,
2013-August 14, 2014) the Illinois Parental Notification Act was in effect.
Young women, ages 18-21 years, unaffected by the law, served as the control
group.
RESULTS:
Before
the law, 320 minors of a total of 5,505 patients (5.8%) obtained a
first-trimester abortion and after the law went into effect, 311 minors of a
total of 6,311 patients (4.9%) obtained an abortion. This constituted a 2.8%
decrease in procedures among minors before and after the law went into effect
(p = .003). However, this decrease was not significant when compared to an
8.8% growth in procedures among the control group, ages 18-21 years (p =
.079). Among minors, there was no difference in race/ethnicity, age, and mean
gestational age at the time of abortion before and after the law (p =
.189, p = .116, and p = .961). There was a trend toward a larger
decline in the youngest minors, aged 12-15 years and in those with at least one
prior abortion.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
impact of a parental notification law on minors at an urban, public clinic is
unclear. The 3% decrease warrants further study of both teen pregnancy rates
and legislative barriers to minors' abortion access.
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: Shanthi_Ramesh@med.unc.edu.
2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.
3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.
J Adolesc Health. 2016 Mar;58(3):290-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.11.004. Epub 2016 Jan 13.
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