Fertility and parental consent for minors to receive contraceptives.

OBJECTIVES

I examined the effect of imposing a requirement for parental consent before minors can receive medical contraceptives.

METHODS

Birth and abortions among teens, relative to adults, in a suburban Illinois county that imposed a parental consent requirement in 1998 were compared with births and abortions in nearby counties during the period 1997-2000.

RESULTS

The relative proportion of births to women under age 19 years in the county rose significantly compared with nearby counties, whereas the relative proportion of abortions to women under age 20 years declined insignificantly, with a relative increase in the proportion of pregnancies (births and abortions) to young women in the county.

CONCLUSIONS

Imposing a parental consent requirement for contraceptives, but not abortions, appears to raise the frequency of pregnancies and births among young women.