Young women who lack financial resources and supportive families that is, those most in need of help are the least likely to be able to navigate the complicated bypass process. For such teenagers, the complexities and delays involved may cancel out the option of safe and legal abortion. Actually, delays increase the risk of harm. The longer a teenager waits to terminate a pregnancy, the greater the risk to her health. Furthermore, childbirth is more risky at all stages of pregnancy than abortion.
Teenagers are more likely than adults to suffer medical complications attributable to childbirth.
Access to legal abortion in the United States has dramatically improved women's health. Abortion is not only one of the safest surgical procedures available, it is generally safer for teenagers than for adults. Laws that restrict access to abortion by requiring parental involvement increase teenage birth rates. For example, according to testimony in the reproductive freedom case, Hodgson v. Minnesota , the Minneapolis birthrate rose 38.4 percent among mothers aged 15 to 17 after enforcement of a parental notification law. The birthrate for 18 to 19 yearold women, who were not affected by the law, rose only .3 percent during the same period.