Whenever a story breaks that an under-16 has had an abortion without her mother's knowledge, there is an outcry. But research carried out by Marie Stopes International found that almost seven out of 10 young women aged 13 to 15 who had attended Marie Stopes centres for a pregnancy termination did not support a change in the law. Almost one in 10 would have continued the pregnancy if parental consent was needed.
It also found that 71 per cent of young women had told their mother or father, and an additional eight per cent had told another parental figure.
The young women's main reason for not telling their mother was fear of disappointing her (24 per cent), followed by fear of the reaction (21 per cent) and not wanting to worry her (17 per cent).
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