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

<b>Objectives.</b> To measure the effect of the ROE Act on abortion timing for adolescents aged 16 to 17 years in Massachusetts. <b>Methods.</b> 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 individuals aged 18 to 19 years undergoing abortions. 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. <b>Results.</b> 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). <b>Conclusions.</b> 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. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2025;115(3):397-402. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307918).

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Publication Details

Journal
American Journal of Public Health
Published
2025-02-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2024.307918
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.49
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article

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

Luu Doan Ireland, Elizabeth Janiak, Danielle Gelfand, N. Arunkumar et al.
1 citations
American Journal of Public Health
Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare
3.49
article

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

Luu Doan Ireland, Elizabeth Janiak, Danielle Gelfand, N. Arunkumar, Isabel Fulcher, Zohn Rosen, Kara Kimball, Jennifer Fortin
article en
1 citations

Abstract

<b>Objectives.</b> To measure the effect of the ROE Act on abortion timing for adolescents aged 16 to 17 years in Massachusetts. <b>Methods.</b> 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 individuals aged 18 to 19 years undergoing abortions. 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. <b>Results.</b> 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). <b>Conclusions.</b> 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. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2025;115(3):397-402. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307918).

American Journal of Public HealthVol. 115(3)
UMass Memorial Health Care (US)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare
3.49
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Changes to Parental Consent Requirements for Abortion in Massachusetts and Impact on Timeliness of Care for Adolescents Aged 16 to 17 Years — Luu Doan Ireland, Elizabeth Janiak, et al. · American Journal of Public Health (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS