More than 25 years ago when we served on the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, we worked together with other members of our committee to craft a compromise bill to address the role of parents when Maine teens seek an abortion. The resulting law, Maine’s Adult Involvement Law, is effective, fair, and just, and we oppose current attempts to repeal it.

In an ideal world, all young women facing an unplanned pregnancy would have a trusted parent or guardian she could talk with about her options and her decision. Indeed, most of the teenagers in Maine seeking an abortion bring a parent with them or have talked with a parent about their decision.

But not all teens live in an ideal world and feel they can involve their parents or guardians. Most laws mandating written parental consent for an abortion acknowledge this reality and offer an alternative, a judicial bypass.

Our committee considered this for Maine, but sending a teenager to court for permission to end a pregnancy is no real alternative for a frightened teenager who doesn’t have family support.

In fact, a 1987 review of Minnesota’s parental consent law found that rather than protecting pregnant teenagers, requiring a judicial bypass in the absence of parental consent imposes a substantial burden on minors. Judicial bypasses delay abortions, which increases medical risk, tension, and cost for the young women.

In reviewing the parental consent law, the court heard testimony from judges who collectively reviewed 90 percent of the petitions for judicial bypass. Not one identified a positive effect of the law.

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Involving courts in a teen’s decision to seek an abortion is not an ideal solution, and we sought another option for Maine.

We all agree it is better to have trusted family members involved, but we also know that we cannot legislate, mandate, or force open, healthy, family communication.

By coming together to find effective solutions to this dilemma we crafted what we feel is the best alternative: Maine’s Adult Involvement Law.

Under the law, if minors seeking an abortion do not have consent from a parent or a guardian and do not wish to seek a judicial bypass, they must receive comprehensive options counseling from an approved counselor such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, ordained clergy member, physician, nurse practitioner or guidance counselor.

Counselors must provide unbiased, nonjudgmental counseling on all options, including adoption, parenting, and abortion. The patient must be told that she can change her mind and be provided information on how to obtain prenatal care and birth control. The counselor must also discuss the possibility of involving a parent or adult family member.

In a 12-1 vote, a truly remarkable feat for such a complex issue, our committee came together, across party lines, representing varying views on abortion, and recommended this compromise to the full legislature. Our colleagues agreed and Republican Gov. John McKernan signed it into law.

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Since Maine’s Adult Involvement Law passed, teen pregnancy and abortion rates have reached historic lows. The state’s pregnancy rate has dropped by approximately 55 percent, one of the sharpest declines in the nation, and teen abortion rates have experienced an even steeper decline, falling more than 75 percent. Minors having an abortion now account for less than 5 percent of the total performed in Maine, and the state’s teen pregnancy rate currently ranks fourth-lowest in the nation.

But instead of championing Maine’s Adult Involvement Law and continuing to fund proven methods to reduce unintended pregnancies, some Maine lawmakers are trying to take us back to the 1980s. They want to repeal our current law and replace it with a mandate requiring written consent from parents or judges.

This proposal, L.D. 83, is bad policy. It is very similar to the original bill we rejected in 1989, which was opposed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College for Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Maine Human Rights Commission, the Maine Public Health Association, and numerous health care practitioners, parents, and educators.

L.D. 83 would not decrease teen pregnancies or abortions. It would not protect teens. It would not increase or improve family communication about sexuality, birth control, pregnancy, or abortion. It would only make a young woman’s decision to seek an abortion more expensive, more risky, and more stressful.

In contrast, Maine’s Adult Involvement Law ensures teens have a trusted adult involved in their decision to seek an abortion. It has worked for 25 years and is a national model. It should be preserved.


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