What effect have parental notification laws had on the abortion rate?
In some small states, like Massachusetts, the answer is confused because some teenagers cross into neighboring states for abortions. In a much larger state like Minnesota where such travel is almost prohibitive, the record is very clear. What is the result? The State of Minnesota had such a law in place since 1981. Then the law was challenged in court and enjoined (suspended) in March 1986. The Supreme Court later ruled that the law was constitutional, and it was reimposed. Hodgson v. State of Minn., 853 F. 2d 1452, 1458 n. 9 [8th Cir 1988] In that state there were excellent records kept for several years with the law in place, several more with-out the law, and then again with the law. Results were very clear. Perhaps not unexpectedly, the number of abortions to unemancipated minors dropped, and by a figure of 34%. Correspondingly, the number of live births to this group increased. The unexpected result was that the number of pregnancies in this age group to unmarried girls decreased
