We can not mandate that teens confide in a parent. A law will not do this. The bigger question concerns those teens who do not feel safe to confide in a parent. Parental consent restrictions place roadblocks in teen women's paths which ultimately restrict their ability to gather information, consider options, and receive medical care, whether it be prenatal care or abortion care. Instead of ensuring safety, parental consent laws create a pre-Roe v. Wade environment placing our teens in a state of fear, lack of resources, and ultimately at risk.
Many teens report confusion about their rights regarding reproductive care.
Combining this confusion with inadequate sex education in our schools, mixed messages about sexuality in our culture, and a still existent double-standard between females and males, it is no wonder that teens often find themselves isolated and confused in dealing with an unintended pregnancy. For those not able to talk with a parent or for those not sure whether or not they can contact a health center without a parent, a pregnancy takes on another level of fear and desperation. Judicial bypass, sometimes provided for by parental consent laws, is intended to give teen women another option in accessing abortion care under parental consent. However, traversing the court system can be very intimidating, judgemental, and non-confidential. Additionally, asking a judge to decide whether or not a young woman can have an abortion is not only a denial of her right to choose, but also far too subject to the biases a judge may have about abortion.