Views Differ On Abortion Bill’S Effect Requiring Parental Ok Will Reduce Procedures For Minors, Sponsor Says
With mixed results in other states, it’s unclear what effect a parental consent law would have on Idaho’s teen abortion rate.
Sixteen states have parental consent laws similar to legislation being considered by Idaho’s House of Representatives this week. Idaho’s bill would require a parent’s written consent or a judge’s order before anyone under 18 could get an abortion.
North Carolina saw its teen abortion numbers go up slightly, about 3.5 percent, after its law took effect in 1997. Michigan’s numbers went down steadily after its law went on the books in 1992, although that state’s teen abortions were on the decline before the legislation.
After Mississippi passed its law in 1986, the state saw a 13 percent decrease in the ratio of minors to adults having abortions. However, there was a 32 percent increase in the ratio of minors to adults traveling out of state to obtain abortions.
Rep. Bill Sali, R-Meridian, sponsor of Idaho’s legislation, said there could be a number of reasons for the inconsistency between states.
“You have to look at the location of the population centers in each state as well as the laws in the surrounding states,” he said. “For example in the Panhandle there is nothing to prevent girls from going from Coeur d’Alene to Spokane or Missoula to obtain an abortion.”
“States vary in terms of the quality of statistical reporting,” he added. “Our laws require pretty accurate reporting. I think we’ll have a good picture of what is going on in Idaho.”
Sali has promoted the bill as a way to save lives of the unborn, saying that while he would prefer to ban all abortions, this is a bill that will pass and be signed into law. He said he expects to see a substantial drop in abortions among minors once the law takes effect.
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Nicole Prehoda isn’t convinced. She said Planned Parenthood often sees parents who favor abortions and teens who don’t want them.
“I think this will have zero effect on the abortion rate in Idaho,” Prehoda said. “We’ve had a parental notification law on the books since the mid-‘80s. If we were going to see a drastic drop, that’s where it would have been seen.” The notification law requires physicians to notify parents, if possible, 24 hours before performing an abortion on a minor.
Though few states track abortion rates for minors, most states are seeing progressively fewer abortions. Idaho has experienced a steady decrease in abortion rates since 1991.
The number of abortions performed in Idaho in 1998 was 888, down from 1,647 in 1991. Among minors, the numbers fluctuated but stayed mostly flat, going from 152 in 1991 to 160 in 1998. In 1997, the number was 145, according to the Idaho Center for Vital Statistics.
“We just did a national survey and we’re at a 20-year low,” Prehoda said. “I think we’ll continue to see abortion rates go down as contraception and the whole idea of planned pregnancy becomes more widely accepted.”
Prehoda said she doubted that the bill would have any serious impact on Idaho girls. She said that there was reliable testimony from Idaho’s abortion providers that 90-95 percent of minors receiving abortions already include their parents in the process.
“The few girls who don’t involve their parents usually have very good reason not to,” Prehoda said, referring to girls in abusive or incestuous situations.
Idaho’s bill easily cleared a House committee last week, and earlier passed the Senate. A vote in the full House is expected early this week, and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has already said he’ll sign the measure into law.
That contrasts with a further-reaching parental consent law that passed the Legislature two years ago after extensive amendments and negotiation, only to be vetoed by then-Gov. Phil Batt. That bill also sought to reform and tighten nearly every section of Idaho’s abortion law, while this year’s compromise bill is less extensive.