Teenage Abortion:

Teenage abortion laws in the United States are decided on a state by state basis. Though abortions are nationally legal for teens, some states require parental notification and others require notification and permission. Some also require a 24-hour waiting period.

Four in every five American females begin having intercourse before the age 20. 70% of those age 13 or under report having had sex forced on them. By the time they turn 20, about 40% of American women have been pregnant at least once.

Many states have laws that restrict teenagers' access to abortion by requiring parental involvement in the abortion decision. Such laws include:

• Parental notification laws that require medical personnel to notify a minor's parent(s) of her intention to obtain an abortion;
• Parental consent laws that require medical personnel to obtain written permission from the parent(s) before providing an abortion;
• Judicial bypass options that allow a teen who feels she cannot involve her parent(s) to get a judge's permission to proceed with her abortion. Some states allow a physician to waive parental involvement, and some allow professional counseling instead of parental involvement.

U.S. Government estimates, indicate that teen abortion rates increased during the 1970s, stabilized during the 1980s at around 43 per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, then decreased steadily to 24.0 per 1,000 by 2000. Recent declines have been especially large among teens ages 15 to 17.

As groups, younger teens have a lower abortion rate than older teens. In 2000, teens under age 15 had an abortion rate of 0.9 per 1,000, compared with 14.5 per 1,000 for teens ages 15 to 17 and 37.7 per 1,000 among teens ages 18 to 19.