New Abortion Rules in Texas for Minors
Unmarried girls under the age of 18 in Texas who wish to obtain abortion care will now need a parent to sign a six-page consent form and get the form notarized before they can have the procedure.
Parental involvement laws pose a serious threat to the health of young women, and restrictive abortion laws may worsen family communication rather than promote it. Even without state laws, most parents know about their daughters’ decisions to have abortions. The young women who do not tell their parents often do so for compelling reasons such as emotional or physical abuse or incest. Rather than tell their parents, some teenagers resort to unsafe, illegal abortions, or try to perform the abortion themselves. In doing so, they risk serious injury and death.
In addition, teenagers are already more likely than older women to delay seeking reproductive health care. When teens know that they are forced by law to tell their parents or get their permission before obtaining care, they are less likely to access reproductive health care services in a timely manner. When teens know that they are forced by law to tell their parents or get their permission before obtaining care, that delay is compounded Although abortion is extremely safe, it is safest when completed earlier in pregnancy. Delays caused by these laws can result in increased health risks.