Pregnant teenagers are not getting accurate information about the Texas State Law that requires them to notify their parents before seeking abortions, a pro-abortion organization charged Thursday.
Pro-life groups say the law, which went into effect two years ago, is working as intended to reduce the number of teen pregnancies and abortions in the state.
Jane's Due Process, an Austin-based pro-abortion organization that recruits pro-abortion lawyers to help teen-age girls get a judicial bypass to the notification requirement, issued its first report on the law. According to the organization, social service agencies, crisis intervention hot lines and family planning clinics wrongly claim that the law requires parental consent and fail to mention the judicial bypass option.
“Teen-agers turn to adults seeking accurate information about the law and are finding people who are not interested in telling them that they have certain rights in obtaining constitutionally protected reproductive health care,” said Diana Philip, executive director of the pro-abortion group. The Legislature in 1999 passed a pro-life law requiring girls younger than 18 to notify their parents before having an abortion. A minor can bypass the requirement if a court determines that notifying her parents would not be in her best interest or may lead to physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
Texas pro-life groups say the notification law is working and point to a 20 percent decline in teen abortions in 2000, the first year the law was in effect. That 20 percent decline was the most dramatic since 1996, according to statistics from the Texas Department of Health. Teen pregnancies also declined 5.6 percent from 1999 to 2000.
Courtney Facciponte, a spokeswoman for Texas Right to Life, said that the law is working to protect girls as well as the rights of parents. “Jane's Due Process is not going to be happy with any law. They would like for girls to get secret abortions without their parents knowing,” Facciponte said.
Jane's Due Process received 1,166 calls on its hotline in the 12 months ending Jan. 21. The calls came from minors or their friends, teachers and relatives as well as legal and medical professionals requesting technical assistance.
It screened 253 girls for abortions, referring 142 to the judicial bypass process. Of those, 79 were referred to the group's pro-abortion lawyers while others used court-appointed lawyers or lawyers recommended by an abortion facility. Of the 79 cases handled by the pro-abortion group's lawyers, judicial bypass waivers were granted in every case but three.
For more information on the success of the parental notification law, contact: Texas Right to Life Committee, 6776 Southwest Freeway, Suite 430, Houston, TX 77074, (713) 782-5433.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
