"There's a commonly accepted idea that teens will try to hide their pregnancy or abortion decision. However, pregnant young women actually do turn to parents in the majority of cases."For background, read how it took over a decade for the Illinois parental notification law to go into effect.
-- Lee Hasselbacher, Researcher, University of Chicago, Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research
-- From "Study finds young women involve parent in abortion when anticipating support" posted at MedicalXpress 9/15/14
The study, published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Public Health, explored the factors young women under age 18 consider when deciding to involve a parent. Researchers conducted interviews with 30 minors seeking abortion in Illinois, prior to implementation of the 2013 parental notification law. Currently, there are 38 states with laws requiring a parent to provide consent or receive notification before a minor can access abortion services.
While each young woman's family circumstance was different, there were several common motivations for involving a parent. Factors favoring telling included close and supportive relationships, need for help with logistics like travel or payment, or experiences that made discovery of the pregnancy seem inevitable.
Minors expressed a range of motivations for not telling a parent about their abortion. Some teens worried that if their parent learned of their decision, it would dramatically change their relationship or feared it would even lead to anger or harm. Young women also discussed the lack of a relationship or presence as a reason they did not want to involve a parent.
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