Incidence of Abortion Declines among American Youth.

During the 1990s pro-lifers cheered the substantial decline in America's abortion rate. Indeed, among states consistently reporting data, the number of abortions declined by an impressive 18% between 1990 and 1999.

However, during this time, the abortion rate among children has been declining at an even faster rate. In 1985 there were 13.5 abortions for every thousand females between the ages of 13 and 17. In 1999 that number fell to 6.5. This means that teenagers today are half as likely to have abortions as their predecessors were 15 years ago.

What is the cause for this decline? There are many reasons. Numerous studies indicate that young people are more likely to abstain from sex or to delay sexual activity until later in life. This has undoubtedly played a role in the abortion decline among teens. However, another major factor that cannot be overlooked is the positive impact of state-level pro-life legislation.

The Supreme Court's 1992 Casey decision, combined with the increased success of pro-life candidates in state legislative races, gave state-level pro-life activists more opportunities to use legislation to protect the unborn. Indeed, during the 1990s, 27 states passed bans on partial-birth abortions. Additionally, 20 states enacted informed consent bills. These laws give women seeking abortions information about the development of their unborn children, public and private sources of support for mothers with young children, and health risks involved with having an abortion.

However, most relevant to the decrease in abortions performed on teens is that the number of states with parental involvement laws increased from 20 to 32 during the 1990s. Parental involvement laws require minors seeking abortions to either notify or receive permission from their parents before ...