Former FRC Adjunct Fellow Publishes Major Study on Abortion in Top State Politics Journal

Parental Involvement Laws Reduce In-State Abortion Rates by About 15 Percent

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michael New, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Alabama, recently published a study on abortion in State Politics and Policy Quarterly, the top state politics journal in the country. The Quarterly serves as the official journal of the state politics and policy section of the American Political Science Association.

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New was an adjunct fellow with the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI), a project of Family Research Council (FRC) during the summer of 2008.

The study, "Analyzing the Effect of Anti-Abortion U.S. State Legislation in the Post-Casey Era," evaluated abortion data from nearly every state over a span of 21 years, from 1985 to 2005 – a longer period than nearly any other peer-reviewed study.

New found in his study that data from both the Centers for Disease Control and the Guttmacher Institute provide solid evidence that Medicaid abortion funding restrictions, parental involvement laws and informed consent laws effectively lower abortion rates. His findings included that parental involvement laws reduce in-state abortion rates for minors by approximately 15 percent. It is part of a substantial body of academic literature showing that such laws are effective.

Of the study, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following comments:

"Dr. Michael New's research tells us that parental involvement laws more effectively get parents involved in their kids' lives, and reduce the number of abortions.

"Almost invariably it is a parent, not a government employee or business entity, who cares most about a daughter's well-being. This is why we strongly support commonsense laws that reaffirm parents' unique role as the decision-makers in the life of their child.

"Politicians can talk about 'reducing abortion rates,' but if they truly want to do so they will support parental-involvement legislation and defund such organizations as Planned Parenthood that perform or promotion abortions," concluded Perkins.

To read the entire report, click here: http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF11C45.pdf

To read New's 2008 paper for FRC on the effect of parental involvement laws on abortion rates among minors, click here: http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF08I28.pdf

SOURCE Family Research Council