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Can I get an Abortion Without my Parents' Permission? Publicly Available Information About Age and Parental Consent
1Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON.
Objectives:
This study aimed to investigate the availability and clarity of online abortion access information in Canada and identify, through the lens of a minor, if websites provide a clear answer to: "Can I get an abortion without my parents' permission?"
Methods:
Using ChoiceConnect, 139 abortion providers and 17 health resource websites were identified for analysis. Provider information was searched to discover an associated website. Identified websites were searched using Boolean operators for plain-language keywords on abortion access for minors ('abortion,' 'consent,' 'permission,' 'parent,' or 'age,') followed by manual searches. Results were classified as: (1) no abortion information; (2) no consent information; or (3) included consent information. Those that included consent information were further categorized thematically as either (1) statements that parental consent is not required; (2) statement regarding capacity to consent; or (3) stating an age of consent. These categories overlapped in some cases.
Results:
Of the 139 providers, 72 had identifiable websites. Of those, 14 (19%) did not mention abortion and 28 (39%) provided information about parental or age of consent. Among those 28, 20 (74%) stated no parental consent was required, 10 (37%) mentioned capacity to consent, and 6 (22%) indicated an age to consent. Overall, 75% of providers and resources did not have a website, mention abortion, or provide consent information.
Conclusions:
There is a lack of clear information online about minors' abortion care access without parental consent. Absence of information presents a substantial barrier to abortion care access for minors.
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