TALLAHASSEE, FL (FR) – Minors in Florida and Kentucky are now required by law to obtain parental consent before getting an abortion. Kentucky’s law went into effect on February 21, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an emergency appeal from pro-abortion advocates. One week earlier, a Florida state district judge in Jacksonville lifted an injunction which kept a state law dormant there since last fall.

Minors seeking abortions in Kentucky must now get the written permission of both parents or a legal guardian or obtain a court order. In Florida, one parent or either of the other options will suffice. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to decide whether it will hear arguments on parental consent laws in the states of Minnesota and Ohio. Abortion advocates typically attack consent laws by claiming that they violate the girl’s right to privacy and that the process is burdensome.

The history of parental consent laws is positive. In Minnesota, before a consent law was removed, a reduction of teen pregnancy was measured.