The Maturity and Competence of Girls Obtaining Abortions: Are Parental Involvement Laws Needed?

A survey of ill minor girls who obtained abortions in Iowa during the early 1990s found that girls who did not tell their parents of their abortion plan were more likely than girls who told to be high school seniors, to have good grades, to have high educational aspirations, and to have engaged in volunteer work during the previous year. The results challenge the notion that minors who seek an abortion without the knowledge of their parents are a group in need of legally mandated parental involvement in their abortion plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]