This law would force these young women to travel alone across state lines to obtain an abortion and deny them support as they travel home after their surgery. Critics of this law believe this legislation might drive young women to attempt self-induced or illegal abortions, or even suicide. 3 Long-term studies of abusive and dysfunctional families reveal that the incidence of violence escalates when a wife or teenage daughter becomes pregnant. Forcing a young woman to notify her abusive parent of a pregnancy can have dangerous, and even fatal, consequences for her and for other family members. For many young women, the judicial bypass is not a real alternative.
Some teenagers live in regions where the local judges simply never grant bypass petitions.
For example, the director of an Indianapolis women's clinic told the New York Times in 1992 that she was not aware of any teenager who had been granted a judicial bypass in that city in the prior six years. 6 Other young women have reason to fear being recognized in local courthouses. Still others simply cannot face revealing intimate details of their lives to a series of strangers in a formal, legal process. For technical or website issues, please contact our Webmistress .