More than 7 million American adolescent girls ages 13 to 17 live in states with abortion bans, restrictive gestational limits or parental involvement requirements, according to Rutgers Health researchers. Their study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, is the first to examine in detail the experiences of adolescent girls after states enacted restrictions on abortion access following the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision.
“As a result of Dobbs, two-thirds of girls ages 13 to 17 now live in states that ban or severely restrict their abortion access,” said Laura Lindberg, a professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and author of the study. “Minors are often targeted by restrictive policies and less able to use routes to abortion care common for adults – traveling to another state or using telehealth – leaving them disproportionately impacted. Without access to abortion, these girls have lost the ability to control their lives and their futures.”
As of December, 12 states have banned abortion entirely and 10 states have restrictive gestational limits. As of Sept. 1, 2023, parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion is required in the 10 states with restrictive gestational limits and 14 of 29 states (as well as Washington, D.C.) without bans or without restrictive gestational limits. New Jersey is a protective state for minors and does not require parental involvement. To read the full story.