Case No.

1-10-1463

IN THE FIRST DISTRICT APPELLATE COURT

______________________________________

THE HOPE CLINIC FOR WOMEN LTD.; and

ALLISON COWETT, M.D., M.P.H.,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.

BRENT ADAMS, Acting Secretary of the Illinois Department

of Financial and Professional Regulation, in his official capacity;
DANIEL BLUTHARDT, Director of the Division of Professional
Regulation of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation, in his official capacity; and THE ILLINOIS STATE
MEDICAL DISCIPLINARY BOARD,

Defendants-Appellees.
______________________________________

On Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County,

County Department—Chancery Division
Honorable Daniel A. Riley, Judge Presiding
______________________________________

AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF ILLINOIS LEGISLATORS

IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES
______________________________________

Mailee R. Smith (IL Bar No. 6280167)

Americans United for Life
655 15th Street NW, Suite 410
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: 202.289.1478

Counsel for Amici Curiae

 POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

ARGUMENT .................................................................................................................................1

Statute

750 Ill. Comp. Stat. 70/5. ................................................................................................................1

Cases

Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622 (1979). ...........................................................................................1

Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007). ....................................................................................2

H.L. v. Matheson, 450 U.S. 398 (1981). .........................................................................................2

Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005). ........................................................................................2

I. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LAWS SUCH AS THE ACT DECREASE

ABORTION AND BIRTH RATES AMONG MINORS ...............................................3

A. Parental Involvement Laws Decrease the Abortion Rate .......................................3

Other Authorities

D. Haas-Wilson, The Impact of State Abortion Restrictions on Minors' Demand for

Abortions, J. HUMAN RESOURCES 31(1):140 (1996). ......................................................................3

D. Haas-Wilson, The economic impact of state restrictions on abortion: Parental

consent and notification laws and Medicaid funding restrictions, J. POLICY ANALYSIS &
MANAGEMENT 12(3):498 (1993). ...................................................................................................3

P. Donovan, Judging teenagers: How minors fare when they seek court authorized
abortions, FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES 15(6): 259 (1983). ...........................................3, 5, 6

R.M. Blank et al., State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics,
Demographics, and Economic Environment, J. HEALTH ECON. 15:513 (1996). ............................3

R.L. Ohsfeldt & S.F. Gohmann, Do Parental Involvement Laws Reduce Adolescent
Abortion Rates?, CONTEMPORARY ECON. POL’Y 12(2):65 (1994). ................................................3

M.J. New, Analyzing the Effect of State Legislation on the Incidence of Abortion Among
Minors: A Report of the Heritage Center for Data Analysis, CATHOLIC SOC. SCI. REV.
(Fall 2007). ..................................................................................................................................3, 4

i
C. Ellertson, Mandatory parental involvement in minors' abortions: Effects of the laws in
Minnesota, Missouri, and Indiana, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 87(8):1367 (1997). ........................4, 5

V.G. Cartoof & L.V. Klerman, Parental consent for abortion: Impact of the
Massachusetts law, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 76(4):397 (1986). ......................................................5

J.L. Rogers et al., Impact of the Minnesota Parental Notification Law on abortion and
birth, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 81(3):294 (1991). .............................................................................5

R.W Blum et al., The impact of a parental notification law on adolescent abortion
decision-making, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 77(5):619 (1987). ..........................................................5

T. Joyce et al., Changes in Abortion and Births and the Texas Parental Notification Law,
N.E.J.M. 354(10):1031 (2006). .......................................................................................................6

P.B. Levine, Parental involvement laws and fertility behavior, J. HEALTH ECON.
22(5):861 (2003). ............................................................................................................................6

B. Parental Involvement Laws Decrease the Birth Rate ..............................................7

Other Authorities

J. Rogers & A. Miller, Inner-City Birth Rates Following Enactment of the Minnesota
Parental Notification Law, LAW & HUMAN BEHAVIOR 17(1):27 (1993). ......................................7

J.L. Rogers et al., Impact of the Minnesota Parental Notification Law on abortion and
birth, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 81(3):294 (1991). .............................................................................7

T.J. Kane & D. Staiger, Teen Motherhood and Abortion Access, QUARTERLY J. ECON.
111(2):467 (1996). ..........................................................................................................................7

C. Jackson & J. Klerman, Welfare, Abortion and Teenage Fertility, RAND Corporation
working paper, August 1994. ..........................................................................................................7

R.L. Ohsfeldt & S.F. Gohmann, Do Parental Involvement Laws Reduce Adolescent
Abortion Rates?, CONTEMPORARY ECON. POL’Y 12(2):65 (1994). ................................................7

T. Joyce et al., Changes in Abortion and Births and the Texas Parental Notification Law,
N.E.J.M. 354(10):1031 (2006). ...................................................................................................7, 8

II. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LAWS SUCH AS THE ACT PROTECT

MINORS FROM THE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HARMS
INHERENT IN ABORTION ...........................................................................................8

A. Minors who abort face demonstrated physical risks ...............................................8

ii
 1. Short-term Physical Risks of Abortion .............................................................8

Other authorities

Planned Parenthood, In-Clinic Abortion Procedures (2010). .........................................................8

K.F. Schultz et al., Measures to prevent cervical injury during suction curettage
abortion, LANCET 1(8335):1182 (1993). ....................................................................................8, 9

R.T. Burkman et al., Morbidity risk among young adolescents undergoing elective
abortion, CONTRACEPTION 30(2):99 (1984). ..................................................................................9

R.T. Burkman et al., Culture and treatment results in endometritis following elective
abortion, AM. J. OBSTET. GYNECOL. 128(5):556 (1997). ...............................................................9

W. Cates, Jr., Teenagers and sexual risk-taking: The best of times and the worst of times,
J. ADOLESC. HEALTH 12(2):84 (1991). ...........................................................................................9

D. Avonts & P. Piot, Genital infections in women undergoing therapeutic abortion,

EURO. J. OBSTET. GYNECOL. & REPROD. BIO. 20(1):53 (1985). .....................................................9

Mifeprex Label. ...............................................................................................................................9

Staff Report, The FDA and RU-486: Lowering the Standard for Women’s Health,
prepared for the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy
and Human Resources (Oct. 2006). ..........................................................................................9, 10

APM Health Europe, Italy questions safety of Exelgyn's abortion pill, approval still not
granted (June 23, 2009). ...............................................................................................................10

Planned Parenthood to Offer Abortion Pills, STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER (Sept. 23, 2009). ........10

2. Long-term Physical Risks of Abortion ...........................................................10

Other authorities

Guttmacher Institute, Teenage Pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State

Information (Feb. 19, 2004). .........................................................................................................10

C. Moreau et al., Previous Induced Abortions and the Risk of Very Preterm Delivery:
Results of the EPIPAGE Study, BRIT. J. OBSTET. & GYN. 112:430 (2005). ...........................10, 11

J.M. Thorp et al., Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of

Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence, OBSTET. & GYNECOL. SURVEY 58[1]:67
(2003). ...............................................................................................................................11, 12, 13

iii
W.M. Callaghan, The Contribution of Preterm Birth to Infant Mortality Rates in the U.S.,
PEDIATRICS 118[4]:1566 (Oct. 2006). ...........................................................................................11

B. Rooney & C. Calhoun, Induced Abortion and Risk of Later Premature Births, J. AM.
PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS 8[2]:46 (2003). ..............................................................................11, 13

M. Melbye et al., Preterm Delivery and Risk of Breast Cancer, BRITISH J. CANCER 80[3-
4]:609 (1999). ...............................................................................................................................11

C.C. Hsieh et al., Delivery of Premature Newborns and Maternal Breast-Cancer Risk,
LANCET 353:1239 (1999). .............................................................................................................11

A. Lanfranchi, The Breast Physiology and the Epidemiology of the Abortion Breast
Cancer Link, IMAGO HOMINIS 12[3]:228-36 (2005). ....................................................................11

American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Dr. Iams (2010).

P. Shah et al., Induced termination of pregnancy and low birth weight and preterm birth:
a systematic review and meta-analysis, B.J.O.G. 116[11]:1425 (2009). ......................................12

P. Shah et al., Induced termination of pregnancy and low birth weight and preterm birth:
a systematic review and meta-analysis, B.J.O.G. 116(11): 1425 (2009). .....................................12

R.H. van Oppenraaij et al., Predicting adverse obstetric outcome after early pregnancy
events and complications: a review, HUMAN REPROD. UPDATE ADVANCE ACCESS 1:1
(Mar. 7, 2009). ..............................................................................................................................12

H.M. Swingle et al., Abortion and the Risk of Subsequent Preterm Birth: A Systematic
Review and Meta-Analysis, J. REPROD. MED. 54:95 (2009). ........................................................12

R.E. Behrman, PRETERM BIRTH: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND PREVENTION (2006). ...............13

B. Luke, EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN’S GUIDE TO PREVENTING PREMATURE BIRTH (1995). ........13

D.C. Reardon et al., Deaths Associated with Abortion Compared to Childbirth: A Review
of New and Old Data and the Medical and Legal Implications, J. CONTEMP. HEALTH LAW
& POL’Y 20[2]:279 (2004). ...........................................................................................................13

J.M. Barrett, Induced Abortion: A Risk Factor for Placenta Previa, AM. J. OBSTET. &
GYNECOL. 141:7 (1981). .........................................................................................................13, 14

TABER’S CYCLOPEDIC MEDICAL DICTIONARY 1630 (20th ed. 2001)……………………14

J.R. Daling et al., Risk of Breast Cancer Among Young Women: Relationship of Induced
Abortion, J. NAT’L CANCER INST. 86[21]:1584 (1994). ................................................................14

iv
 B. Minors who abort face demonstrated psychological risks ....................................14

Other Authorities

D.M. Fergusson et al., Abortion in Young Women and Subsequent Mental Health, J.
CHILD PSYCHOL. & PSYCHIAT. 41(1):16 (2006). ...............................................................15, 18, 19

J.R. Cougle et al., Depression Associated with Abortion and Childbirth: A Long-Term
Analysis of the NLSY Cohort, MED. SCI. MONITOR 9(4):CR157 (2003). .........................16, 17, 19

V.M. Rue et al., Induced Abortion and Traumatic Stress: A Preliminary Comparison of
American and Russian Women, MED. SCI. MONITOR 10(10):SR5 (2004). .................16, 17, 18, 19

P. Coleman, Induced Abortion and Increased Risk of Substance Abuse: A Review of the
Evidence, CURRENT WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUES 1:21 (2005). .......................................................16

Z. Bradshaw & P. Slade, The Effects of Induced Abortion on Emotional Experiences and
Relationships: A Critical Review of the Literature, CLINICAL PSYCHOL. REV. 23:929
(2003). ...........................................................................................................................................16

P.K. Coleman et al., State-funded abortions vs. deliveries: A comparison of outpatient

mental health claims over four years, AMER. J. ORTHOPSYCHIATRY 72:141 (2002). ...................16

W.B. Miller et al., Testing a model of the psychological consequences of abortion, in L.J.
Beckman & S.M. Harvey, THE NEW CIVIL WAR: THE PSYCHOLOGY, CULTURE, AND
POLITICS OF ABORTION (American Psychological Association 1998). ..........................................16

G. Congleton & L. Calhoun, Post-abortion perceptions: A comparison of self-identified

distressed and non-distressed populations, INT’L J. SOC. PSYCHIATRY 39:255 (1993). ...............16

P.K. Coleman & E.S. Nelson, The quality of abortion decisions and college students’
reports of post-abortion emotional sequelae and abortion attitudes, J. SOC. & CLINICAL
PSYCHOLOGY 17:425 (1998). ........................................................................................................17

H. Soderberg et al., Emotional distress following induced abortion: A study of its

incidence and determinants among abortees in Malmo, Sweden, EUROPEAN J. OBSTET. &
GYNECOL. & REPROD. BIOLOGY 79:173 (1998). ...........................................................................17

L.M. Pope et al., Post-abortion psychological adjustment: Are minors at increased risk?,
J. ADOLESCENT HEALTH 29:2 (2001). ...........................................................................................17

W. Pederson, Abortion and depression: A population-based longitudinal study of young

women, SCANDINAVIAN J. PUB. HEALTH 36(4):424 (2008). .........................................................17

v
D.I. Rees & J.J. Sabia, The relationship between abortion and depression: New evidence
from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, MED. SCI. MONITOR 13(10):430
(2007). ...........................................................................................................................................17

F.O. Fayote et al., Emotional distress and its correlates, J. OBSTET. & GYNECOL. 5:504
(2004). ...........................................................................................................................................17

M. Gissler et al., Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: Register linkage study,
BRIT. MED. J. 313:1431 (1996). ....................................................................................................18

M. Gissler et al., Injury deaths, suicides and homicides associated with pregnancy,
Finland 1987-2000, EURO. J. PUBLIC HEALTH 15:459 (2005). .....................................................18

A.C. Gilchrist et al., Termination of pregnancy and psychiatric morbidity, BRIT. J.

PSYCHIATRY 167:243 (1995). .......................................................................................................18

M. Gissler et al., Pregnancy-associated deaths in Finland 1987-1994: Definition

problems and benefits of record linkage, ACTA OBSTETRICA ET GYNECOLOGICA
SCANDINAVICA 76:651 (1997). .....................................................................................................19

D.C. Reardon & P.C. Coleman, Relative Treatment Rates for Sleep Disorders and Sleep
Disturbances Following Abortion and Childbirth: A Prospective Record-Based Study, J.
SLEEP 29:105 (2006). ....................................................................................................................19

D.C. Reardon et al., Deaths Associated with Abortion Compared to Childbirth: A Review
of New and Old Data and the Medical and Legal Implications, J. CONTEMP. HEALTH LAW
& POL’Y 20(2):279 (2004). ...........................................................................................................19

P.J. Smith, Study Shows Abortion Takes Toll on Adolescent Mental Health (Aug. 18,
2006). ......................................................................................................................................19, 20

P.G. Ney, Abortion and Subsequent Substance Abuse, AM. J. DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE
26:61 (2000). .................................................................................................................................20

K. Yamaguchi & D. Kandel, Drug Use and Other Determinants of Premarital Pregnancy
and its Outcome: A Dynamic Analysis of Competing Life Events, J. MARRIAGE & FAMILY
49:257 (1987). ...............................................................................................................................20

Guttmacher Institute, In Brief: Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States (May
2010). ............................................................................................................................................20

Guttmacher Institute, Teenage Pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State

Information (Feb. 19, 2004). .........................................................................................................20

vi
III. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LAWS PROTECT MINORS FROM
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ..........................................................................................21

Other Authorities

M. Oberman, Regulating Consensual Sex with Minors: Defining a Role for Statutory
Rape, 48 BUFFALO L. REV. 703 (2000). ......................................................................21, 23, 24, 25

M. Oberman, Girls in the Master’s House: Of Protection, Patriarchy and the Potential
for Using the Master’s Tools to Reconfigure Statutory Rape Law, 50 DEPAUL L. REV.
799 (2001). ....................................................................................................................................21

J. Abma et al., Young Women’s Degree of Control Over First Intercourse: An

Exploratory Analysis, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 30(1):12 (Jan./Feb. 1998). .........................................21

Lewin Group, Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements
(2004). ...........................................................................................................................................21

Guttmacher Institute, Sex and America’s Teenagers (1994). .......................................................21

P. Donovan, Can Statutory Rape Laws be Effective in Preventing Adolescent

Pregnancy?, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 29(1):30 (Jan./Feb. 1997). ........................................................21

National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions [“NACHRI”],

Child Sexual Abuse Fact Sheet (2004). .........................................................................................22

E.M. Saewyc et al., Teenage Pregnancy and Associated Risk Behaviors Among Sexually
Abused Adolescents, PERSP. ON SEXUAL & REPROD. HEALTH 936(3):8 (May/June
2004). ................................................................................................................................22, 23, 24

Stop It Now, Commonly Asked Questions: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About
Child Sexual Abuse (2005). ...........................................................................................................22

R.F. Hanson et al., Factors Related to the Reporting of Childhood Sexual Assault, CHILD
ABUSE & NEGLECT 23:559 (1999). ...............................................................................................22

C.E. Irwin & V.I. Rickert, Editorial: Coercive Sexual Experiences During Adolescence
and Young Adulthood: A Public Health Problem, 36 J. ADOLES. HEALTH 359 (2005). ..............22

V.I. Rickert et al., Disclosure of Date/Acquaintance Rape: Who Reports and When, 18 J.
PED. ADOLES. GYN. 17 (2005). ...............................................................................................22, 23

G. Murphy, BEYOND SURVIVING: TOWARD A MOVEMENT TO PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL

ABUSE 3 (2002). ......................................................................................................................22, 23

vii
P.T. Clements et al., Issues and Dynamics of Sexually Assaulted Adolescents and Their
Families, J. MENTAL HEALTH NURSING 13:267 (2004). ...................................................22, 23, 24

J.L. Stock et al., Adolescent Pregnancy and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Sexually Abused
Girls, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 29(5):200 (Sept./Oct. 1997). .........................................................23, 24

T. Luster & S.A. Small, Sexual Abuse History and Number of Sex Partners Among
Female Adolescents, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 29(5):204 (Sept./Oct. 1997). ........................................23

National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 14 and Younger: The Sexual Behavior of
Young Adolescents (Summary 2003). ...........................................................................................24

K. Moore & J. Manlove, A Demographic Portrait of Statutory Rape, presentation to

Conference on Sexual Exploitation of Teens (2005). ....................................................................24

Darkness to Light, Statistics Surrounding Child Sex Abuse (2010). ............................................25

CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................26

viii
 ARGUMENT

When the Illinois General Assembly enacted the Illinois Parental Notice of

Abortion Act (“the Act”) in 1995, it made the following findings of fact:

The General Assembly finds that notification of a family member as defined in

this Act is in the best interest of an unemancipated minor, and the General
Assembly’s purpose in enacting this parental notice law is to further and protect
the best interests of an unemancipated minor.

The medical, emotional, and psychological consequences of abortion are

sometimes serious and long-lasting, and immature minors often lack the ability to
make fully informed choices that consider both the immediate and long-range
consequences.

Parental consultation is usually in the best interest of the minor and is desirable
since the capacity to become pregnant and the capacity for mature judgment
concerning the wisdom of an abortion are not necessarily related.

750 Ill. Comp. Stat. 70/5.

In their Verified Complaint as well as in their Response to Defendants’ Combined

Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings or, in the alternative, to Dismiss, the Plaintiffs

claim that there is “no justification” for the Act. See Plaintiffs’ Verified Complaint, at

12; Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendants’ Combined Motion for Judgment, at 8-9. This

assertion is false and shows a blatant disregard for the General Assembly’s findings and

the plethora of evidence supporting those findings.

As the United States Supreme Court has acknowledged, the “abortion decision

has implications far broader than those associated with most other kinds of medical

treatment.” Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 649 (1979). The Court has also stated that

“immature minors often lack the ability to make fully informed choices that take account

of both immediate and long-range consequences”—a finding explicitly enumerated in the

Act. Id. at 640; 750 Ill. Comp. Stat. 70/5. As recently as 2007, the Court held that

1
“[s]evere depression and loss of esteem can follow” the abortion decision. Gonzales v.

Carhart, 550 U.S. 124, 159 (2007).

In fact, in H.L. v. Matheson, the Court stated that the emotional and psychological

effects of abortion are markedly more severe for girls under the age of 18—those women

the Illinois General Assembly sought to protect when enacting the Act. 450 U.S. 398,

411 n.20 (1981). And in Roper v. Simmons, the Court took note of the unique

vulnerability of minors when it enunciated the following three differences between

minors and adults:

1. Minors possess a lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of

responsibility, which result in impetuous and ill-considered actions
and decisions;

2. Minors are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and

outside pressures, including peer pressure; and

3. The character of a minor is not as well formed as that of an adult, with

the personality traits of minors being more transitory and less fixed.

543 U.S. 551, 569-70 (2005).

As the documented studies below demonstrate, parental involvement laws

(requiring either parental consent or parental notification) decrease both minor abortion

and birth rates. In addition, parental involvement laws protect minors from the physical

and psychological harms inherent in abortion, as well as from the harms of sexual

exploitation. Thus, these studies refute the Plaintiffs’ claims that there is “no

justification” for the Act.

2
I. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LAWS SUCH AS THE ACT DECREASE
ABORTION AND BIRTH RATES AMONG MINORS

A. Parental Involvement Laws Decrease the Abortion Rate

Studies indicate that parental involvement laws appear to decrease teenage

demand for abortion. For example, a 1996 study revealed that “parental involvement

laws appear to decrease minors’ demands for abortion by 13 to 25 percent.”1 In a similar

earlier study, the same researcher found a 16 percent decrease overall in the rate of

minors’ abortions in states where parental involvement laws are in effect.2 When

narrowed to only those minors aged 15 to 19, the abortion rate was 25 percent lower in

states with parental involvement laws as compared to states without such laws.3 A study

analyzing the effects of parental involvement laws in Massachusetts and Minnesota found

that the number of abortions obtained during the period the laws were in effect decreased

by approximately one-third.4

These findings, as well those in other similar studies,5 were echoed in 2007 by

research published by Dr. Michael New in the peer reviewed journal Catholic Social

1
D. Haas-Wilson, The Impact of State Abortion Restrictions on Minors' Demand for
Abortions, J. HUMAN RESOURCES 31(1):140, 155 (1996).
2
D. Haas-Wilson, The economic impact of state restrictions on abortion: Parental
consent and notification laws and Medicaid funding restrictions, J. POLICY ANALYSIS &
MANAGEMENT 12(3):498, 509 (1993).
3
Id.
4
P. Donovan, Judging teenagers: How minors fare when they seek court authorized
abortions, FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES 15(6): 259 (1983).
5
See, e.g., R.M. Blank et al., State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers,
Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment, J. HEALTH ECON. 15:513 (1996);
R.L. Ohsfeldt & S.F. Gohmann, Do Parental Involvement Laws Reduce Adolescent
Abortion Rates?, CONTEMPORARY ECON. POL’Y 12(2):65 (1994).

3
Science Review.6 After reviewing the relevant literature and performing a multi-

regression analysis on a dataset that included abortion data from nearly every state

between 1985 and 1999, Dr. New determined that parental involvement laws accounted

for a reduction in teenage abortion of approximately 16 percent.7 By demonstrating that

the parental involvement laws at issue decreased teenage abortion but not overall abortion

rates, Dr. New established that the 16 percent decrease in abortion among minors was

causally connected to parental involvement laws, as opposed to other factors (such as a

state becoming more conservative).8 He also showed that where parental involvement

laws are in effect, teenage abortion decreases; but where parental involvement laws that

have been in effect are nullified by a court decree, teenage abortion increases after such

nullification.9

Dr. New acknowledged, however, that researchers are divided over whether

parental involvement laws truly reduce the number of overall abortions, or whether

minors circumvent abortion laws in their own states by traveling to states without

restrictions. For example, researcher Charlotte Ellertson separately analyzed parental

involvement laws in Indiana, Minnesota, and Missouri and found that the minor abortion

6
M.J. New, Analyzing the Effect of State Legislation on the Incidence of Abortion Among
Minors: A Report of the Heritage Center for Data Analysis, CATHOLIC SOC. SCI. REV.
(Fall 2007), available at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/02/analyzing-the-
effect-of-state-legislation-on-the-incidence-of-abortion-among-minors (last visited Sept.
7, 2010).
7
Id. at 3-4, 5.
8
Id. at 6-7. If there was a swing in public opinion about abortion in general, then there
would have been an overall decrease in both minor and adult abortions in those states.
9
Id. at 7-8.

4
rate declined anywhere from 17 to 26 percent after the enactment of these laws.10

However, she also found that minors were more likely to travel to other states to obtain

abortions when these laws were in effect, speculating that the increase in out-of-state

abortions could offset the in-state declines.11

Yet there are ample studies demonstrating exactly the opposite. For example, a

study by Virginia Cartoof and Lorraine Klerman found that both in- and out-of-state

abortions of minors in Massachusetts declined by 15 percent following passage of the

state’s parental consent statute.12

In addition, several studies analyzing Minnesota’s parental notification law have

found little evidence that significant numbers of minors are obtaining out-of-state

abortions. Rather, one study indicated that the law decreased the in-state minor abortion

rate by about 28 percent,13 with another study finding little evidence that minors are

leaving the state to obtain abortions.14 Another study stated, “[i]n practice, the majority

of Minnesota minors do not have the option of going to another state, although some of

those who live in the northwest section of the state can go to Fargo, North Dakota, and

10
C. Ellertson, Mandatory parental involvement in minors' abortions: Effects of the laws
in Minnesota, Missouri, and Indiana, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 87(8):1367 (1997).
11
Id.
12
V.G. Cartoof & L.V. Klerman, Parental consent for abortion: Impact of the
Massachusetts law, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 76(4):397 (1986).
13
J.L. Rogers et al., Impact of the Minnesota Parental Notification Law on abortion and
birth, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 81(3):294 (1991).
14
R.W Blum et al., The impact of a parental notification law on adolescent abortion
decision-making, AMER. J. PUB. HEALTH 77(5):619, 620 (1987) (“there is little evidence
indicating [that] large numbers of Minnesota youths are leaving the state for abortion”).

5
minors living along the southern border can go to Iowa; very few go to either state,

however.”15

Researchers obtained similar results when analyzing the impact of the parental

notification law in Texas, which went into effect in 2000. In 2006, researchers reported

in the New England Journal of Medicine the following statistically significant findings:

 Abortion rates fell by 11 percent among 15-year-olds

 Abortion rates fell by 20 percent among 16-year-olds

 Abortion rates fell by 16 percent among 17-year-olds.16

The researchers rigorously collected data from neighboring states and found little

evidence that minors from Texas were obtaining abortions elsewhere.17

Thus, a significant body of research literature suggests that parental involvement

laws reduce minor abortion rates while not necessarily increasing out-of-state abortion

rates. And given the fact that every state bordering Illinois has an enforceable parental

involvement statute, the chance of minors in Illinois circumventing the notification law

and decreasing its effectiveness by traveling to other states is very slim. In fact, in order

to circumvent the Illinois law, a minor would have to travel to Montana, New Jersey, or

New York, the closest states without currently enforceable parental involvement laws.

15
Donovan, supra, at 262.
16
T. Joyce et al., Changes in Abortion and Births and the Texas Parental Notification
Law, N.E.J.M. 354(10):1031 (2006).
17
Id. See also P.B. Levine, Parental involvement laws and fertility behavior, J. HEALTH
ECON. 22(5):861 (2003) (taking into account state-of-residence, as opposed to state-of-
occurrence, and finding that parental involvement laws do result in a significant reduction
in abortions).

6
 To the contrary, by enforcing the law in Illinois, the state will actually prevent the

migration of minors from other states into Illinois to obtain abortions. For example, it is

well known that minors from the state of Missouri regularly travel to Granite City to visit

Plaintiff Hope Clinic for Women.

B. Parental Involvement Laws Decrease the Birth Rate

Furthermore, there is no evidence that parental involvement laws cause the

birthrate to increase among minors.18 “[T]here is no empirical support for the claim that

recent restrictions on access to abortion [including parental consent statutes] have led to

higher teen birth rates.”19 To the contrary, “teen birth rates f[a]ll, rather than r[i]se,

following the implementation of parental consent laws.”20 For example, a study by

Ohsfeldt and Gohmann concluded, “the results imply that a parental involvement law is

associated with about an 18 percent reduction in the adolescent abortion rate and an 8

percent reduction in the adolescent pregnancy rate.”21

Likewise, Joyce et al. found that, in the two years after the Texas parental

notification law went into effect, there was a decrease in the birthrate among minors of

18
See, e.g., J. Rogers & A. Miller, Inner-City Birth Rates Following Enactment of the
Minnesota Parental Notification Law, LAW & HUMAN BEHAVIOR 17(1):27 (1993); J.L.
Rogers et al., supra.
19
T.J. Kane & D. Staiger, Teen Motherhood and Abortion Access, QUARTERLY J. ECON.
111(2):467, 470 (1996).
20
Id. at 476; see also C. Jackson & J. Klerman, Welfare, Abortion and Teenage Fertility,
RAND Corporation working paper, August 1994 (supporting the conclusion that teen
birth rates fall after passage and enforcement of parental notification laws).
21
R.L. Ohsfeldt & S.F. Gohmann, supra, at 74.

7
4.8 percent.22 The researchers concluded that “minors increase the use of contraception

or decrease sexual activity in response to a parental notification or consent law.”23

II. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LAWS SUCH AS THE ACT PROTECT

MINORS FROM THE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HARMS
INHERENT IN ABORTION

Medical studies demonstrate that abortion carries immediate and long-term

physical risks, as well as psychological consequences, that are harmful to women’s

health. Because minors are particularly susceptible to these risks, it cannot be argued that

there is “no justification” for the Act.

A. Minors who abort face demonstrated physical risks

1. Short-term Physical Risks of Abortion

The undisputed24 short-term physical risks of surgical abortion include blood

clots; incomplete abortions, which occur when part of the unborn child or other products

of pregnancy are not completely emptied from the uterus; infection, which includes

pelvic inflammatory disease and infection caused by incomplete abortion; and injury to

the cervix and other organs, which includes cervical lacerations and incompetent

cervix—a condition that affects subsequent pregnancies.

Minors are even more susceptible to these risks than are older women. For

example, minors are up to twice as likely to experience cervical lacerations during

22
Joyce et al., supra, at 1034.
23
Id. at 1037.
24
These risks are openly acknowledged by abortion providers. See, e.g., Planned
Parenthood, In-Clinic Abortion Procedures (2010), available at
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/abortion-procedures-4359.htm
(last visited Aug. 31, 2010).

8
abortion.25 Researchers believe that smaller cervixes make it more difficult to dilate or

grasp with instruments. Minors are also at greater risk for post-abortion infections, such

as pelvic inflammatory disease and endometritis.26 Again, researchers believe that

minors are more susceptible because their bodies are not yet fully developed and do not

yet produce the protective pathogens found in the cervical mucus of older women.

While these risks apply to surgical abortion, it is important to note that drugs

producing a chemical abortion have never been tested on minors. For example, the

common abortion drug RU-486 has only been tested on women aged 18 to 46.27 We

simply do not yet know how RU-486 has specifically impacted young women; but we do

know that by May of 2006, the FDA acknowledged a total of 1070 adverse event reports

related to the use of RU-486.28 These adverse events included 6 deaths, 9 life-threatening

25
See, e.g., K.F. Schultz et al., Measures to prevent cervical injury during suction
curettage abortion, LANCET 1(8335):1182 (1993); R.T. Burkman et al., Morbidity risk
among young adolescents undergoing elective abortion, CONTRACEPTION 30(2):99
(1984).
26
See, e.g., R.T. Burkman et al., Culture and treatment results in endometritis following
elective abortion, AM. J. OBSTET. GYNECOL. 128(5):556 (1997); W. Cates, Jr., Teenagers
and sexual risk-taking: The best of times and the worst of times, J. ADOLESC. HEALTH
12(2):84 (1991); D. Avonts & P. Piot, Genital infections in women undergoing
therapeutic abortion, EURO. J. OBSTET. GYNECOL. & REPROD. BIO. 20(1):53 (1985).
27
See Mifeprex Label, available at
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2000/20687lbl.htm (last visited
Aug. 23, 2010)
28
Staff Report, The FDA and RU-486: Lowering the Standard for Women’s Health,
prepared for the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy
and Human Resources, at page 25 (Oct. 2006), available at
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/ru486/SouderStaffReportonRU-486.pdf (last visited
Aug. 23, 2010)

9
incidents, 232 hospitalizations, 116 blood transfusions, and 88 cases of infection.29 Since

that time, there have been hundreds of additional adverse events reported, as well as

additional deaths in the United States.30 A European drug manufacturer has publicly

stated that 29 women have died worldwide after using RU-486.31

Currently, both surgical and chemical abortions are available to minors in the

state of Illinois without any type of parental notification or involvement.32

2. Long-term Physical Risks of Abortion

Minors are also more susceptible to the long-term risks of abortion. In fact, the

Guttmacher Institute—Planned Parenthood’s research wing—has acknowledged that

because minors are less likely than adults to take prescribed antibiotics or follow other

regimens of treatment, they are at greater risk for subsequent miscarriage, infertility,

hysterectomy, and other serious complications.33

Included in these long-term risks are the harmful effects on future pregnancies—

yet most women who abort do so early in their reproductive lives while desiring to have

29
Id.
30
Id. at 32.
31
See, e.g., APM Health Europe, Italy questions safety of Exelgyn's abortion pill,
approval still not granted (June 23, 2009), available at
http://www.apmhe.com/story.php?mots=MIFEPRISTONE&searchScope=1&searchType
=0&numero=L15579 (last visited Aug. 23, 2010).
32
See, e.g., Planned Parenthood to Offer Abortion Pills, STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
(Sept. 23, 2009), available at http://www.sj-r.com/health/x576519774/Local-Planned-
Parenthood-to-offer-abortion-drugs (last visited Sept. 10, 2010).
33
Guttmacher Institute, Teenage Pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State
Information (Feb. 19, 2004).

10
children at a later time.34 However, induced abortion increases the risk of pre-term birth

(premature birth) and very low birth weight in subsequent pregnancies. Induced abortion

has been associated with an increased risk of the premature rupture of membranes,

hemorrhage, and cervical and uterine abnormalities, which are responsible for the

increased risk of pre-term birth.35

Pre-term birth occurs prior to the 37th week of pregnancy and is very dangerous

to the child. In 2006, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced that premature

birth is the leading cause of infant mortality.36 It is also a risk factor for later disabilities

for the child, such as cerebral palsy and behavioral problems.37 Additionally, pre-term

birth poses risks to the mother’s health. For example, studies demonstrate that delivering

a child before 32 weeks gestation when it is the mother’s first pregnancy (as is the case

for most minors) may increase the mother’s breast cancer risk.38

34
C. Moreau et al., Previous Induced Abortions and the Risk of Very Preterm Delivery:
Results of the EPIPAGE Study, BRIT. J. OBSTET. & GYN. 112:430, 431 (2005).
35
Id.
36
J.M. Thorp et al., Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of
Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence, OBSTET. & GYNECOL. SURVEY 58[1]:67, 75
(2003); W.M. Callaghan, The Contribution of Preterm Birth to Infant Mortality Rates in
the U.S., PEDIATRICS 118(4):1566 (Oct. 2006).
37
B. Rooney & C. Calhoun, Induced Abortion and Risk of Later Premature Births, J. AM.
PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS 8(2):46, 46-47 (2003).
38
M. Melbye et al., Preterm Delivery and Risk of Breast Cancer, BRITISH J. CANCER
80(3-4):609 (1999); C.C. Hsieh et al., Delivery of Premature Newborns and Maternal
Breast-Cancer Risk, LANCET 353:1239 (1999). The breast cancer risk arises because
breast tissue does not mature into cancer-resistant tissue until the last eight weeks of
pregnancy, after women have received great amounts of potentially cancer-causing
estrogen during the first trimesters. A. Lanfranchi, The Breast Physiology and the
Epidemiology of the Abortion Breast Cancer Link, IMAGO HOMINIS 12(3):228-36 (2005).

11
 There are currently 114 studies showing a statistically significant association

between induced abortion and subsequent pre-term birth.39 In 2009 alone, three different

systematic studies demonstrated the risk of pre-term birth following abortion. P. Shah et

al. reported that induced abortion increases the risk of pre-term birth in a subsequent

pregnancy by 37 percent, with two or more abortions increasing the risk by 93 percent.40

Similarly, R.H. van Oppenraaij et al. found that a single induced abortion raises the risk

of subsequent pre-term birth by 20 percent, with two or more abortions increasing the

risk by 90 percent.41 Those researchers also found that a woman who has two or more

abortions doubles her risk of subsequently having a “very” premature baby (before 34

weeks gestation).42 Likewise, Swingle et al. reported an odds ratio of a statistically

significant 64 percent higher risk of “very pre-term birth” (before 32 weeks gestation) for

women with one prior induced abortion.43

The 2009 studies simply confirmed what was already in the medical literature.

For example, a 2005 study demonstrated that a woman who has an abortion is 50 percent

39
See, e.g., J.M. Thorp et al., supra; B. Rooney & C. Calhoun, supra; American
Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Dr. Iams (2010), available at
http://www.aaplog.org/get-involved/letters-to-members/dr-iams/ (last visited Sept. 1,
2010).
40
P. Shah et al., Induced termination of pregnancy and low birth weight and preterm
birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis, B.J.O.G. 116(11):1425 (2009).
41
R.H. van Oppenraaij et al., Predicting adverse obstetric outcome after early pregnancy
events and complications: a review, HUMAN REPROD. UPDATE ADVANCE ACCESS 1:1
(Mar. 7, 2009).
42
Id.
43
H.M. Swingle et al., Abortion and the Risk of Subsequent Preterm Birth: A Systematic
Review and Meta-Analysis, J. REPROD. MED. 54:95 (2009).

12
more likely to deliver before 33 weeks, and 70 percent more likely to deliver before 28

weeks in subsequent pregnancies.44 A 2003 study demonstrated that a woman who has

two abortions doubles her future risk of pre-term birth, and a woman who has four or

more abortions increases the risk of pre-term birth by 800 percent.45

The Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Science, lists

first-trimester abortion as a risk factor associated with subsequent pre-term birth.46

Likewise, a renowned pregnancy resource book states, “if you have had one or more

induced abortions, your risk of prematurity with this pregnancy increases by about 30

percent.”47 The resource also states that birth before 32 weeks is ten times more likely

when a woman has an incompetent cervix—which has already been discussed as a

common risk following abortion.48

Abortion is also a risk factor for placenta previa in subsequent pregnancies.49

Placenta previa increases the risk of fetal malformation and excessive bleeding during

44
J.M. Thorp et al., supra, at 75.
45
B. Rooney & C. Calhoun, supra, at 46-47.
46
R.E. Behrman, PRETERM BIRTH: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND PREVENTION 519
(2006).
47
B. Luke, EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN’S GUIDE TO PREVENTING PREMATURE BIRTH 32
(1995).
48
Id.
49
D.C. Reardon et al., Deaths Associated with Abortion Compared to Childbirth: A
Review of New and Old Data and the Medical and Legal Implications, J. CONTEMP.
HEALTH LAW & POL’Y 20(2):279 (2004).

13
labor.50 Placenta previa also increases the risk that the baby will die during the perinatal

period, which begins after 28 weeks gestation and ends 28 days after birth.51

Finally, it is undisputed that a first full-term pregnancy offers a protective effect

against subsequent breast cancer development.52 A woman who aborts her first

pregnancy loses this protection. Thus, not only does abortion pose an increased risk for

future pregnancies, it also strips a woman of the protective effects of a first full-term

pregnancy. Furthermore, while it is debated whether abortion is a direct cause of breast

cancer, a study by pro-choice researcher Dr. Janet Daling in the Journal of the National

Cancer Institute sheds light on the risk to minors. In her study, every woman with a

family history of breast cancer who was under the age of 18 at the time of her abortion

developed breast cancer before age 45.53 In other words, the risk to minors was

incalculable.

B. Minors who abort face demonstrated psychological risks

Numerous studies have examined the effect abortion has on the mental state of

women and confirm that abortion poses drastic risks—risks that inflict minors with

particular force. These risks include depression, anxiety, and even suicide. One of the

50
J.M. Barrett, Induced Abortion: A Risk Factor for Placenta Previa, AM. J. OBSTET. &
GYNECOL. 141:7 (1981).
51
Id.; TABER’S CYCLOPEDIC MEDICAL DICTIONARY 1630 (20th ed. 2001).
52
D.C. Reardon et al., supra. The woman also loses the protective effect against cancers
of the cervix, colon and rectum, ovaries, endometrium, and liver. Id.
53
J.R. Daling et al., Risk of Breast Cancer Among Young Women: Relationship of
Induced Abortion, J. NAT’L CANCER INST. 86(21):1584 (1994).

14
leading studies examined a sample group of over 500 women from birth to age 25.54

That study, led by pro-abortion researcher D.M. Fergusson, was controlled for all

relevant factors, including prior history of depression and anxiety and prior history of

suicide ideation.55 The Fergusson study found that 42 percent of young women

experience major depression after abortion.56 Moreover, minors were found to be

particularly at risk for depression. In studying teens aged 15 to 18, researchers found that

minors who became pregnant and carried to term had a 35.7 percent chance of

experiencing major depression, but minors who aborted had an astonishing 78.6 percent

chance of experiencing major depression.57

The study also found that women who abort are twice as likely to experience

anxiety disorders.58 In teens, the chance of experiencing anxiety after abortion was 64.3

percent, and the chance of suicidal ideation was 50 percent.59 Importantly, the study

showed that abortion led to depression and anxiety, and that it was not depression and

anxiety that led to the abortion. Likewise, a 2003 study showed that women who abort

54
D.M. Fergusson et al., Abortion in Young Women and Subsequent Mental Health, J.
CHILD PSYCHOL. & PSYCHIAT. 41(1):16 (2006).
55
Id.
56
Id.
57
Id. at 19.
58
Id. at 16.
59
Id. at 19.

15
their first pregnancies were 65 percent more likely to be at “high risk” for depression than

women who did not abort.60

Yet another study stated that “anxiety and depression have long been associated

with induced abortion,” and that anxiety is the most common adverse mental effect of

abortion.61 Up to 30 percent of women experience extremely high levels of anxiety and

stress one month after abortion.62

Consider also the findings of the following studies:

 P.K. Coleman et al.: Across the four years studied, women who aborted had 40
percent more claims for neurotic depression than women who gave birth.63

 W.B. Miller et al.: Six to eight weeks post-abortion, 35.9 percent of women
experienced some depression.64

 G. Congleton & L. Calhoun: Depression was reported in 20 percent of women

who aborted.65

60
J.R. Cougle et al., Depression Associated with Abortion and Childbirth: A Long-Term
Analysis of the NLSY Cohort, MED. SCI. MONITOR 9(4):CR157, CR 162 (2003).
61
V.M. Rue et al., Induced Abortion and Traumatic Stress: A Preliminary Comparison of
American and Russian Women, MED. SCI. MONITOR 10(10):SR5, SR6 (2004).
62
P. Coleman, Induced Abortion and Increased Risk of Substance Abuse: A Review of the
Evidence, CURRENT WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUES 1:21, 23 (2005); Z. Bradshaw & P. Slade,
The Effects of Induced Abortion on Emotional Experiences and Relationships: A Critical
Review of the Literature, CLINICAL PSYCHOL. REV. 23:929-58 (2003).
63
State-funded abortions vs. deliveries: A comparison of outpatient mental health claims
over four years, AMER. J. ORTHOPSYCHIATRY 72:141 (2002).
64
Testing a model of the psychological consequences of abortion, in L.J. Beckman &
S.M. Harvey, THE NEW CIVIL WAR: THE PSYCHOLOGY, CULTURE, AND POLITICS OF
ABORTION (American Psychological Association 1998).

65
Post-abortion perceptions: A comparison of self-identified distressed and non-
distressed populations, INT’L J. SOC. PSYCHIATRY 39:255 (1993).

16
  P.K. Coleman & E.S. Nelson: Depression increased after abortion to a rate of 56.7
percent.66

 H. Soderberg et al.: 50 to 60 percent of aborting women experienced emotional

distress of some form, with 30 percent of cases classified as severe.67

 L.M. Pope et al.: 19 percent of women experienced moderate to severe levels of

depression 4 weeks post-abortion.68

 W. Pedersen: Women with an abortion history were nearly 3 times as likely as

their peers without an abortion to report significant depression.69

 D.I. Rees & J.J. Sabia: After adjusting for controls, abortion was associated with
more than a two-fold increase in the likelihood of having depressive symptoms at
a second follow-up.70

 F.O. Fayote et al.: Previous abortion was significantly associated with depression
and anxiety among pregnant women.71

Thus, abortion increases stress and decreases the ability to deal with stress.72

These findings are significant, because depression is a known risk factor for suicide.73

66
The quality of abortion decisions and college students’ reports of post-abortion
emotional sequelae and abortion attitudes, J. SOC. & CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 17:425
(1998).
67
Emotional distress following induced abortion: A study of its incidence and
determinants among abortees in Malmo, Sweden, EUROPEAN J. OBSTET. & GYNECOL. &
REPROD. BIOLOGY 79:173 (1998).
68
Post-abortion psychological adjustment: Are minors at increased risk?, J.
ADOLESCENT HEALTH 29:2 (2001).
69
Abortion and depression: A population-based longitudinal study of young women,
SCANDINAVIAN J. PUB. HEALTH 36(4):424 (2008).
70
The relationship between abortion and depression: New evidence from the Fragile
Families and Child Wellbeing Study, MED. SCI. MONITOR 13(10):430 (2007).
71
Emotional distress and its correlates, J. OBSTET. & GYNECOL. 5:504 (2004).
72
V.M. Rue et al., supra, at SR5-SR16.
73
J.R. Cougle et al., supra, at CR 162.

17
For example, the Fergusson study found that 27 percent of women who aborted reported

experiencing suicide ideation, with as many as 50 percent of minors experiencing suicide

or suicide ideation.74 The risk of suicide was three times greater for women who aborted

than for women who delivered. The researchers concluded that their findings raised the

possibility that, for some young women, exposure to abortion is a traumatic life event

which increases longer-term susceptibility to common mental disorders.75

The Fergusson study is not the first (nor the last) to demonstrate a connection

between induced abortion and suicide. Ten years prior to the 2006 Fergusson Study, a

team led by M. Gissler found that the suicide rate was nearly 6 times greater among

women who aborted compared to women who gave birth.76 In 2005, Gissler et al. once

again found that abortion was associated with a 6 times higher risk for suicide compared

to birth.77

Other studies have found an even higher risk following abortion. In 1995,

Gilchrist et al. reported that, among women with no history of psychiatric illness, the rate

of deliberate self-harm was 70 percent higher after abortion than childbirth.78 In a

comparison study of American women and Russian women, V.M. Rue et al. reported that

74
D.M. Fergusson et al., supra, at 19, Table 1.
75
Id. at 22.
76
M. Gissler et al., Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: Register linkage study,
BRIT. MED. J. 313:1431 (1996).
77
M. Gissler et al., Injury deaths, suicides and homicides associated with pregnancy,
Finland 1987-2000, EURO. J. PUBLIC HEALTH 15:459 (2005).
78
A.C. Gilchrist et al., Termination of pregnancy and psychiatric morbidity, BRIT. J.
PSYCHIATRY 167:243 (1995).

18
36.4 percent of the American women and 2.8 percent of the Russian women reported

suicidal ideation.79 While abortion has a “deleterious effect,” childbirth appears to have a

protective effect against suicide—contrary to erroneous claims made by the Plaintiffs.80

Other studies have linked a history of abortion to sleeping disorders, eating

disorders, and promiscuity, all of which are destructive to women’s health.81 In 2006,

researchers in a federally-funded study found that adolescents who abort their unintended

pregnancies are fives times more likely to seek help for psychological and emotional

problems afterward than those adolescents who carried their pregnancies to term.82 The

study also revealed that adolescents who had abortions were three times more likely to

experience trouble sleeping.83

Abortion also appears to fuel other destructive behaviors, such as subsequent drug

and alcohol abuse. Women who abort are twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous

levels and three times as likely to become addicted to illegal drugs.84 Women who never

79
V.M. Rue et al., supra.
80
J.R. Cougle et. al., supra, at CR162. See also M. Gissler et al., Pregnancy-associated
deaths in Finland 1987-1994: Definition problems and benefits of record linkage, ACTA
OBSTETRICA ET GYNECOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA 76:651 (1997).
81
D.C. Reardon & P.C. Coleman, Relative Treatment Rates for Sleep Disorders and
Sleep Disturbances Following Abortion and Childbirth: A Prospective Record-Based
Study, J. SLEEP 29:105-06 (2006); D.C. Reardon et al., supra.
82
P.J. Smith, Study Shows Abortion Takes Toll on Adolescent Mental Health (Aug. 18,
2006), available at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06081805.html (last
visited May 2, 2008) (discussing the federally-funded P. Coleman research in Journal of
Youth and Adolescents).
83
Id.
84
D.M. Fergusson et al., supra.

19
abused drugs before abortion are 4.5 times more likely to abuse drugs after abortion.85

Another study found that the use of drugs other than marijuana was 6.1 times higher

among women who had abortions than woman who did not have abortions.86 Regarding

minors, one study found that minors who abort their pregnancies are nine times more

likely to report marijuana use after their abortions than are minors who carry their

pregnancies to term.87

There are over 1 million induced abortions performed in the United States each

year.88 Minors aged 15 to 17 account for six percent of all abortions—thus an estimated

60,000 abortions per year.89 Contrary to Plaintiffs’ claims, the Guttmacher Institute—

again, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider—

has estimated that 40 percent of teenage abortions occur without parental involvement.90

Those teens are left without the protective oversight of their parents following abortion—

oversight that might alert parents to psychological effects before it is too late.

85
P.G. Ney, Abortion and Subsequent Substance Abuse, AM. J. DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE
26:61-75 (2000).
86
K. Yamaguchi & D. Kandel, Drug Use and Other Determinants of Premarital
Pregnancy and its Outcome: A Dynamic Analysis of Competing Life Events, J. MARRIAGE
& FAMILY 49:257-70 (1987).
87
P.J. Smith, supra (discussing P. Coleman research in Journal of Youth & Adolescents).
88
Guttmacher Institute, In Brief: Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States (May
2010), available at http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html (last
visited Sept. 2, 2010).
89
Id.
90
Guttmacher Institute, Teenage Pregnancy, supra.

20
III. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LAWS PROTECT MINORS FROM
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Finally, parental involvement laws protect weak and vulnerable teens from sexual

exploitation. It is obviously easier for child predators to use abortion to cover up criminal

behavior in states without parental involvement laws. Parental involvement laws help

protect vulnerable minors by alerting a parent of potential abuse.

Evidence suggests there is widespread confusion and ignorance among young

girls about their sexual encounters and that a “considerable proportion” of minors

experience their first sexual intercourse under coercive conditions.91 In one study, 60

percent of women who had sexual intercourse before the age of 15 reported having had a

forced sexual experience.92 Of those with a first sexual experience before the age of 14,

74 percent reported a forced sexual experience.93

Simply put, because of their inexperience and the sexual culture surrounding

them, minors are inherently vulnerable to exploitation and coercion in their sexual

interactions.94 Unfortunately, sexual abuse is “vastly underreported.”95 In fact, nearly 88

91
M. Oberman [“Oberman I”], Regulating Consensual Sex with Minors: Defining a Role
for Statutory Rape, 48 BUFFALO L. REV. 703, 708 (2000); M. Oberman [“Oberman II’],
Girls in the Master’s House: Of Protection, Patriarchy and the Potential for Using the
Master’s Tools to Reconfigure Statutory Rape Law, 50 DEPAUL L. REV. 799, 820 (2001)
(citing J. Abma et al., Young Women’s Degree of Control Over First Intercourse: An
Exploratory Analysis, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 30(1):12, 12-18 (Jan./Feb. 1998)).
92
Lewin Group, Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements
1 (2004) (citing Guttmacher Institute, Sex and America’s Teenagers (1994)); see also
Oberman I, supra, at 717; P. Donovan [“Donovan II”], Can Statutory Rape Laws be
Effective in Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy?, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 29(1):30 (Jan./Feb.
1997).
93
Oberman I, supra, at 717; Donovan II, supra, at 30.
94
Oberman I, supra, at 704-05, 709-10, 778 (citing numerous studies and resources).

21
percent of sexual abuse is never reported—let alone prosecuted.96 Many experts refer to

sexual violence and date/acquaintance rape as a “hidden” or “silent” epidemic because of

the high rates of occurrence and its infrequent disclosure.97 Yet studies reveal that at

least one in five girls is sexually abused before the age of 18.98 Some researchers

estimate even higher numbers.99

Numerous studies document the consequences of sexual abuse, ranging from

psychological to physical to behavioral effects. Psychologically, sexual assault leads to

severe emotional and traumatic reactions.100 Such effects include post-traumatic stress

disorder; difficulty regulating reactions to disturbing events; a detrimental effect on

“adolescent intrapsychic development and interpersonal relationships”; a poorly-

developed sense of self; an inability to trust that directly impacts the potential for intimate

95
National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions [“NACHRI”],
Child Sexual Abuse Fact Sheet (2004); E.M. Saewyc et al., Teenage Pregnancy and
Associated Risk Behaviors Among Sexually Abused Adolescents, PERSP. ON SEXUAL &
REPROD. HEALTH 936(3):8, 99 (May/June 2004).
96
Stop It Now, Commonly Asked Questions: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
About Child Sexual Abuse (2005) (citing R.F. Hanson et al., Factors Related to the
Reporting of Childhood Sexual Assault, CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 23:559, 559-69
(1999)).
97
C.E. Irwin & V.I. Rickert, Editorial: Coercive Sexual Experiences During Adolescence
and Young Adulthood: A Public Health Problem, 36 J. ADOLES. HEALTH 359 (2005); V.I.
Rickert et al., Disclosure of Date/Acquaintance Rape: Who Reports and When, 18 J. PED.
ADOLES. GYN. 17 (2005).
98
NACHRI, supra.
99
G. Murphy, BEYOND SURVIVING: TOWARD A MOVEMENT TO PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL
ABUSE 3 (2002).
100
P.T. Clements et al., Issues and Dynamics of Sexually Assaulted Adolescents and
Their Families, J. MENTAL HEALTH NURSING 13:267, 273 (2004).

22
relationships; eating and sleep disorders; intense, negative self-evaluations; depression;

and increased incidences or attempts of suicide.101

From a physical standpoint, minors enduring sexual abuse have an increased

incidence of soft tissue injury, pelvic pain syndromes, and gastrointestinal illness.102

Some of the most drastic physical consequences occur as a result of the behavioral effects

common in sexual abuse victims. Evidence demonstrates a strong correlation between

sexual abuse and compulsive, addictive, high-risk behavior.103

For example, sexually abused minors are more likely not to use contraception and

to have multiple partners.104 One study found that minors who have been sexually

abused are twice as likely not to use birth control and are more likely to have had more

than one sexual partner.105 Another study found that previously abused minors were

three times more likely to have had three or more partners in the last year, with currently

abused minors seven times more likely than never-abused minors to have had three or

more partners in the last year.106

101
Id. at 267, 271, 273; J.L. Stock et al., Adolescent Pregnancy and Sexual Risk-Taking
Among Sexually Abused Girls, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 29(5):200, 201 (Sept./Oct. 1997); V.I.
Rickert et al., supra, at 23 (2005); G. Murphy, supra, at 3.
102
P.T. Clements et al., supra, at 271.
103
J.L. Stock et al., supra, at 202; Oberman I, supra, at 729-30; Saewyc et al., supra, at
102.
104
See, e.g., Saewyc et al., supra, at 98; Clements et al., supra, at 271.
105
J.L. Stock et al., supra, at 202; see also Saewyc et al., supra (reporting that sexually
abused adolescents are less likely than their non-abused peers to use condoms or other
birth control methods).
106
T. Luster & S.A. Small, Sexual Abuse History and Number of Sex Partners Among
Female Adolescents, FAM. PLAN. PERSP. 29(5):204, 207 (Sept./Oct. 1997).

23
 These actions bring higher rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases,

as well as an increased risk of sexual violence in relationships.107 One study found that

sexually abused teens are three times more likely to become pregnant before the age of

18.108

In addition, sexually abused minors have higher rates of substance abuse and

addictions, including the use of alcohol, cigarettes, and illegal substances.109 Often these

substances are used as coping devices.110

Finally, repeated victimization is a major concern. Studies show a link between

sexual abuse and the repetition of assaults and prostitution.111 In fact, one study claims

that previous victimization is the “most highly correlated predictor of subsequent

victimization.”112 Forty-four percent of women who were sexually abused before the age

of 18 are victimized again at least once later in life.113 Between 38 and 48 percent of

107
J.L. Stock et al., supra, at 202; National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
[“NCPTP”], 14 and Younger: The Sexual Behavior of Young Adolescents 18 (Summary
2003); Clements et al., supra, at 267, 271; Saewyc et al., supra, at 98, 102.
108
J.L. Stock et al., supra, at 200.
109
NCPTP, supra, at 13; Clements et al., supra, at 267; K. Moore & J. Manlove, A
Demographic Portrait of Statutory Rape, presentation to Conference on Sexual
Exploitation of Teens (2005), available at
http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2005_03_23_SP_StatRapePres.pdf (last
visited Sept. 9, 2010).
110
See Saewyc et al., supra, at 98.
111
Clements et al., supra, at 267, 271.
112
Id.
113
Oberman I, supra, at 730.

24
survivors later have physically abusive husbands.114 One report documented that 65

percent of prostitutes were forced into sexual activity before the age of 16.115 Another

study revealed that more than 75 percent of teenage prostitutes had been sexually

abused.116

114
Id. at 729.
115
Id. at 730.
116
Darkness to Light, Statistics Surrounding Child Sex Abuse (2010), available at
http://www.darkness2light.org/KnowAbout/statistics_2.asp (last visited Sept. 9, 2010).

25
 CONCLUSION

Ample evidence demonstrates that parental involvement laws protect the health

and welfare of minors. Thus, contrary to the Plaintiffs’ claims, there is significant

“justification” for the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act. As such, the lower court

holding must be upheld, and the Act must be allowed to go into effect.

Respectfully submitted,

____________________________________
Mailee R. Smith (IL Bar No. 6280167)
Americans United for Life
655 15th Street NW, Suite 410
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: 202.289.1478

Counsel for Amici Curiae

26
 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

I hereby certify that this brief conforms to the requirements of Rules 341(a) and

(b). The length of this brief, excluding the pages containing the Rule 341(d) cover, the

Rule 341(h)(1) statement of points and authorities, the Rule 341(c) certificate of

compliance, certificate of service, and those matters to be appended to the brief under

rule 342(a), is _______ pages.

__________________________________
Mailee R. Smith
Americans United for Life
Counsel for Amici Curiae

27
 PROOF OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on ________________________, I caused to be served three

(3) paper copies of the foregoing Amici Curiae Brief to counsel listed below by

depositing said copies in U.S.P.S. priority mail, postage paid.

Lorie A. Chaiten Kathleen L. Roach

Leah Bartelt Rachel B. Niewoehner
Khadine Bennett Geeta Malhotra
Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU, Inc. Sidley Austin LLP
180 N. Michigan Avenue One South Dearborn Street
Suite 2300 Chicago, Illinois 60603
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Jennifer Dalven Lisa Madigan

Alexi Kolbi-Molinas Attorney General
American Civil Liberties Foundation Thomas A. Ioppolo
125 Broad Street Alice E. Keane
18th Floor S. Ann Walls
New York, New York 10001 Assistant Attorneys General
General Law Bureau
Illinois Attorney General
100 W. Randolph
13th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Courtesy copies were also mailed to Counsel for Proposed Intervenor-Defendants in case
1-10-1576:

Paul Benjamin Linton Thomas Brejcha

Special Counsel Peter Breen
The Thomas More Society The Thomas More Society
921 Keystone Avenue 29 S. LaSalle Street, Suit
Northbrook, Illinois 60062-3614 440
Chicago, Illinois 60603

__________________________________
Mailee R. Smith
Americans United for Life
Counsel for Amici Curiae

28