Enforcing the 1983 Illinois law that requires parental notification of minors seeking abortions would be a grave mistake.
Enforcement will lead to the unnecessary deaths of many young women who will inevitably choose ”back alley” or ”kitchen table” abortions rather than risk having to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.
Teenagers who choose to end a pregnancy in abortion usually do so in a state of turmoil. Requiring parental notification will be seen by young people as a kind of punishment.
Punishing young girls for their problems will not make the problems go away. Until our schools have a family life education program that effectively teaches young people how to avoid pregnancy, we will continue to see children giving birth to children of their own.
