Changes to Parental Consent Requirements for Abortion in Massachusetts and Impact on Timeliness of Care for Adolescents Aged 16 to 17 Years

Bibliographic Data

ID11022620
AuthorsIsabel R Fulcher (0000-0002-1209-824X, UMass Memorial Health Care), Isabel Fulcher (Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston), Kara Kimball (Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston), Zarah Rosen (Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston), Jennifer Fortin (Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston), N Arunkumar (0000-0002-6618-0329, UMass Memorial Health Care), Danielle Gelfand (Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston), Elizabeth Janiak (0000-0001-5061-7736, Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston), Luu Ireland (0000-0001-6856-9226, Isabel Fulcher is with the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Isabel Fulcher, Jennifer Fortin, Namita Arunkumar, Danielle Gelfand, Elizabeth Janiak, and Luu Ireland are with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Boston. Kara Kimball, Zarah Rosen, and Luu Ireland are with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, UMass Memorial Health, Worcester. Elizabeth Janiak is with Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston)
Year2025
Volume115
Issue3
Pages397-402
Publication date2025-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2024.307918
PMID39938038
OpenAlexW4407395353
LanguageEN
References cited15

Objectives. To measure the effect of the ROE Act, which eliminated parental consent requirements for abortion for individuals ages 16 to 17 years, on abortion timing for adolescents in this age group in Massachusetts. Methods. The primary outcome was gestational duration at abortion for individuals aged 16 to 19 years at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts from 2017 to 2022. Our control group included abortions among those aged 18 to 19 years. In our primary analysis, we used a comparative interrupted time series with a linear model to capture temporal trends, seasonality, whether an abortion was undergone during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous abortion, and race/ethnicity categories. Results. Minors aged 16 to 17 years underwent 749 abortions during the study. Individuals aged 18 to 19 years underwent 2773 abortions. The ROE Act resulted in a 5.46-day decrease in gestational duration at abortion among minors (95% confidence interval = −11.82, 0.91). Conclusions. Removal of the parental involvement requirement for adolescents aged 16 to 17 years in Massachusetts led to minors undergoing abortions at earlier gestational durations, highlighting the importance of potential impacts of similar legislation to decrease barriers to abortion access for minors. ( Am J Public Health. 2025;115(3):397–402. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307918 )

Abortion · Alternative medicine · Environmental health · Family medicine · Informed consent · Parental consent · Pregnancy · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Medicine · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Gerontology