Factors associated with the use of court bypass by minors to obtain abortions

Interviews with minors at four Minnesota abortion clinics revealed that 43 percent used the court bypass option that is part of that state's parental notification statute. The proportion who did so increased with age and was most common among lower socioeconomic groups. A discriminant function analysis showed that perceived maternal supportiveness was a key difference between those who went to court and those who notified their parents. Young women who attended religious services frequently were less likely than those who did not to tell their parents of their abortion plans. Minors who notified only one parent - and still had to go to court under Minnesota law, which requires notification of both parents - were more likely than those who told neither to come from a single-parent household and to have good communication with their mother.