Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Currently, 37 states in the US have parental involvement in minor abortion laws (PI laws). Previous research on the effect of PI laws on risky sexual behavior has found mixed results that were sensitive to data and specification decisions. These studies specify one treatment indicator regardless of policy type (notification or consent). Parental notification laws require the abortion provider to inform a parent prior to the minor obtaining an abortion. Parental consent laws require a minor to receive signed consent from a parent/guardian to obtain an abortion. Given that each type of policy is enacted individually, knowing the impact of each policy is important and may help shape future legislation. This study is the first to separate the policies into unique indicators.

Using data from the 2001-2015 Youth Risky Behavior Surveillance Survey, I employ a parametric event study to estimate the impact of each law on minor sexual activity and birth control use. This method’s identifying assumption, that any pre-trend would continue unaltered without policy intervention, better fits the data than the differences-in-differences model used in previous research. A parametric event study also allows both a one-time jump in behavior and a change in slope, measuring a time-varying effect.

Counter to the theory that the more burdensome law would have a larger impact on minors’ behavior, notification laws have a larger impact on sexual activity, an effect that increases over time, though there is no evidence of a significant impact on contraception use. Consent laws have a one-time impact with coefficients opposite of the hypothesized direction on both recent sexual activity and contraception use. Given that each law is enacted individually, knowing the impact of each policy may shape future legislation.