Senate Approves Bill To Allow Minors To Consent To Pregnancy Care

Senate lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to make their own decisions about pregnancy care.

Indiana law generally doesn’t let minors make their own health care decisions without a parent’s consent. That includes 16- and 17-year-olds who are pregnant. Sen. Jean Leising’s (R-Oldenburg) measure would give them that power.

But the Senate voted down such a bill earlier this year in part because of concerns the girl’s parents were entirely left out. So, Leising’s new version requires physicians to try to contact the pregnant teen’s parents.

“Before prenatal care, before delivery, and before postpartum care,” Leising says.

Those changes helped deliver unanimous approval in the Senate. The bill now heads back to the House, which can vote to send the measure to the governor as early as next week.