College Can Be Where Life Starts. Now It’s About Ending It.

On May 28 the Nevada Supreme Court made the unanimous decision of halting enforcement of the state’s abortion parental notification law, allowing teens to access abortion services without being mandated to inform their caregivers. The ruling comes in response to a case filed by a Nevada physician and Planned Parenthood against a 1985 parental notification law that had been blocked under Roe v. Wade and was first enforced beginning in July 2025.

While the state Supreme Court’s decision grants only a preliminary injunction while the case proceeds through the lower courts, it marks a momentous step in addressing the current barriers to abortion access for teens even in abortion-protective states.

Four years after the landmark Dobbs decision swiftly unraveled half a century of progress and bodily protections, about two-thirds of adolescent girls in the United States are living in an area with a complete abortion ban, gestational limits, or parental involvement laws (laws requiring parental consent or parental notification for a minor to obtain an abortion).

Even in states with more liberal policies, teens continue to face major obstacles to abortion access. Currently, 38 states mandate that adolescents seeking an abortion obtain parental consent, notify their parents, or do both, creating significant and disproportionate barriers to care for teens compared to adults.

Parental notification laws have been largely upheld in the courts. However, the recent decision in Nevada and an ongoing suit filed in Colorado by an OB-GYN may prove to be the turning point in the fight to safeguard abortion rights, particularly in liberal states. The cases highlight an often overlooked fact: Legal protection for abortion does not mean equitable access for minors.

Following the Dobbs decision, 10 states voted to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions. Of note, a measure passed in Nevada in 2024 to protect abortion rights within the state constitution, but per state law, the measure must pass a second time (in November 2026) for the state constitution to be amended. Despite these legislative wins, seven of these states have parental consent and notification laws that impede access for minors.

If successful, the cases in Colorado (a state that does constitutionally protect the right to abortion) and Nevada may set precedents for legal challenges in other states, prompting a broader reexamination of inequities in reproductive health care policies for adolescents.

Health care providers are uniquely poised to lead these advocacy efforts.

At present 41 states have restricted access to abortion. Thirteen of them have complete abortion bans and seven have imposed restrictive gestational limits (abortion bans at 18 weeks gestation or less). Additionally, as of May, 38 states had parental involvement laws in place with varying provisions regarding parental consent and notification. Twenty-one of these states require parental consent, 10 require parental notification, and seven require both. Furthermore, two states have passed abortion trafficking laws, making it illegal to help an adolescent travel for abortion care without parental consent. So far, laws limiting travel have been held up in court .

While some may argue that parental involvement laws encourage family communication and thus benefit teens, this is not always the case.

Traditionally, when caring for adolescents, health care providers advocate for and facilitate family-centered care as outcomes are improved when there is alignment between the parent and teen. However, in cases where disclosure can impede care, the medical community affirms the right to adolescent confidentiality. Research has shown that teens have the decision-making capacity to appreciate the risks, benefits, and alternatives to abortion to provide consent. They also tend to include their parents in this decision-making when possible.

Typically, those who chose not to disclose their pregnancies — whether because of fear of violence and familial rejection, loss of financial support, or irreversible strain on the parent-child relationship — were able to correctly forecast the parental response. Unwanted disclosure has been linked to adverse mental health outcomes , including increased symptoms of depression. Additionally, studies in Illinois and Colorado found that state parental notification requirements did not increase parental support for abortion. Instead, the requirements led to delayed access to care for minors.

There are exceptions to parental involvement laws. Among the 38 states with these laws, 38 provide an exception in the case of medical emergencies, and 37 have judicial bypass procedures, which allow a court to grant approval for an abortion.

However, the judicial process is long and laborious and is associated with increased stress and fear for minors. These provisions also do not guarantee that an adolescent will be granted an exception. Judicial bypass denials have e…