CNS News features an article on a study which found parental notification laws for teens seeking abortions also had the effect of lowering the gonorrhea transmission rate.
State parental involvement laws are effective in reducing the incidence of risky sexual behavior among teenagers. That's the conclusion of a study to be published in January in the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization.
Florida State University law professor Jonathan Klick said the incidence of at least one sexually transmitted disease (STD) -- teen gonorrhea -- is dramatically reduced in states that have laws requiring minors to first notify a parent or seek permission before having an abortion.
Tracking the incidence of gonorrhea, said Klick, is a good yardstick for measuring risky sexual behavior among teens.
The article also mentions a dramatic drop in the abortion rate of teen girls.
A Heritage Foundation study released in February found that parental involvement laws have been a major factor in a reduction of abortion rates among teen girls over the last 20 years. Since 1985, abortion has dropped by 50 percent among girls between 13 and 17 years of age -- from 13.5 abortions for every 1,000 girls in 1985 to just 6.5 per 1,000 girls in 1999.
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