Los Angeles, CA — A new study published last week by the Family Research Council proves that laws that require parental involvement before minors can obtain abortions save a significant number of lives.
The findings of the study, conducted by Dr. Michael New, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama, show that even simple parental notification laws can reduce teen abortions as much as 13 percent.
“These findings are good news to those who are working enact common sense public policy that involves parents, such as California’s Prop. 4, an initiative that would require parental notification before minors can obtain abortions,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “This should give added encouragement for voters to support Prop. 4 and other similar measures.”
Dr. New’s study found the following:
-If a state passes a pro-life parental involvement law it reduces the minor abortion rate by 13 percent
-If this law requires parental consent (rather than parental notice) it reduces the minor abortion rate by 19 percent
-If this law requires the involvement of two parents (rather than one parent) it reduces the minor abortion rate by 31 percent.
-These findings held true for all age groups that were analyzed –17 year olds, 16 year olds, and 15 year olds.
“Dr. New’s study results give support to Operation Rescue’s policy of working to save as many babies as possible now, while working toward total abolition of abortion the earliest moment,” said Newman. “Restrictive abortion legislation is just another tool in our hands, to save babies, as this study shows. It is immoral and unconscionable to allow babies to die that we have within our ability to save with common sense laws such as parental involvement legislation. It also gives us another means of holding abortionists, who are predisposed to violate the law, legally accountable for their actions.”
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