Planned Parenthood tirelessly opposes every parental involvement law now in effect and works diligently to prevent new laws from passing.

In states like Pennsylvania, teens need parental consent to have a legal abortion. To get around involving their parents, teens may apply for a judicial bypass. Philadelphia lawyer, Barbara Bailey, has “shepherded more than a thousand teens through judicial bypass since the early 1990’s.” Watch the full video.

I don’t see teens who have good, healthy relationships with their parents coming for a bypass. They tell their parents.

In other words, this translates into more parents hearing about what’s going on in their teenage daughters’ lives. Where this type of parental involvement law doesn’t exist, any girl the least bit squeamish about telling her parents she is pregnant (thus admitting she is sexually active) can bypass that whole awkward conversation. That teen can march right into a Planned Parenthood clinic and have herself an abortion, go home and cry for 2 days, having now increased six fold her risk of attempting suicide. She’s also twice as likely as her peers to start abusing drugs or alcohol.

35 states have parental involvement laws. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, 40 percent of teen abortions take place with no parental involvement. I’d be curious to know the stats. How many girls who have fair to excellent relationships with their parents offer up their intention to have an abortion when they are not legally required to do so? As a parent, wouldn’t you want to know?

Some argue parental involvement laws create more problems than they solve.

Really?