The objective of the proposed study is to analyze the effect of parental involvement (PI) laws on births, abortions and the timing of abortions in North Carolina and Texas. In general, PI laws require that an abortion provider notify a parent or parents of a minor's request for an abortion, or that the parent(s) provide written consent, before a procedure can be performed. Thirty-three states presently enforce a PI statute, up from 13 states in 1988. The most novel aspect of the proposed study is that we have access to individual birth and abortion records that include the teen's exact date of birth (mm/dd/yy). Thus, we can identify which minors were exposed to the law from the point of conception. This is especially important for the analysis of PI laws since most minors that conceive at 17 years of age give birth at age 18. All previous analyses, with only year of birth to determine age, have suffered from a potentially significant form of misclassification bias in the assignment of teens to treatment and comparison groups. In past work, the """"""""comparison"""""""" group of 18 year olds included many teens, which were exposed to the law as minors during pregnancy. Consequently, estimates of the effect of PI laws are downward biased, which diminishes power to detect statistically significant changes in fertility. The second innovative aspect of the proposed study is that with a teen's exact date of birth we can apply a regression discontinuity (RD) design to identify effects of the law. Finally, we will analyze effects of PI laws on the timing of abortions. Teens have almost double the rate of second trimester abortions relative to adults. Second trimester abortions are less available, more expensive, and medically more complicated. Teens who do not involve their parents may take longer to obtain an abortion either out of state or through a judicial bypass. Thus, we expect PI laws to increase the rate of second trimester abortions among minors.
| Colman, Silvie; Joyce, Ted (2009) Minors' behavioral responses to parental involvement laws: delaying abortion until age 18. Perspect Sex Reprod Health 41:119-26 |
| Colman, Silvie; Joyce, Ted; Kaestner, Robert (2008) Misclassification bias and the estimated effect of parental involvement laws on adolescents'reproductive outcomes. Am J Public Health 98:1881-5 |
| Joyce, Theodore; Kaestner, Robert; Colman, Silvie (2006) Changes in abortions and births and the Texas parental notification law. N Engl J Med 354:1031-8 |
