Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May;20(3):15-22.
doi: 10.12927/hcpol.2024.27474.

Adolescent Access to Abortion Care in Canada: Age, Capacity and Parental Consent

Alana Cattapan  1 , Kathleen Hammond  2 , Eleanor Mcgrath  3
Affiliations

Adolescent Access to Abortion Care in Canada: Age, Capacity and Parental Consent

Alana Cattapan et al. Healthc Policy. 2025 May.

Abstract
in English, French

For adolescents seeking abortion care in Canada, clear information about age and parental consent requirements is not always available. This article details the state of age of consent law and policy across Canada, focusing on access to abortion care. It identifies three key concerns, namely, challenges with unclear or contradictory information, obstacles presented by having additional requirements for minors' consent and difficulties posed by restrictions that require parents and/or guardians to be involved in decision making. The article concludes with recommendations to reduce these barriers to care.

Les adolescentes qui veulent obtenir des services d'avortement au Canada n'ont pas toujours accès à des renseignements clairs sur l'âge et les exigences en matière de consentement parental. Cet article décrit en détail l'état des lois et des politiques sur l'âge du consentement à travers le Canada, en mettant l'accent sur l'accès aux services d'avortement. On y relève trois préoccupations principales, à savoir les défis liés à des renseignements ambigus ou contradictoires, les obstacles que représente l'imposition d'exigences supplémentaires en matière de consentement pour les mineures et les difficultés posées par l'obligation que les parents ou les tuteurs participent à la prise de décision. L'article se termine par des recommandations qui visent à réduire ces obstacles.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC). 2017. Position Paper #58 – The Injustice and Harms of Parental Consent Laws for Abortion. Retrieved February 23, 2024. <https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/media/position-papers/58-Parental-Consent.pdf>.
    1. Advance Health Care Directives Act, SNL 1995, c A-4.1, s 7. Retrieved April 25, 2025. <https://www.canlii.org/en/nl/laws/stat/snl-1995-c-a-4.1/latest/snl-1995-...>.
    1. Alberta Health Services (AHS). 2020. Consent to Treatment/Procedure(s): Minors/Mature Minors. Retrieved April 25, 2025. <https://extranet.ahsnet.ca/teams/policydocuments/1/clp-consent-to-treatm...>.
    1. Assifi A.R., Kang M., Sullivan E.A., Dawson A.J. 2020. Abortion Care Pathways and Service Provision for Adolescents in High-Income Countries: A Qualitative Synthesis of the Evidence. PLOS ONE 15(11): e0242015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242015. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Black A., Guilbert E., Hassan F., Chatziheofilou I., Lowin J., Jeddi M. et al. 2015. The Cost of Unintended Pregnancies (in Canada: Estimating Direct Cost, Role of Imperfect Adherence, and the Potential Impact of Increased Use of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives). Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 37(12): 1086–97. doi:10.1016/S1701-2163(16)30074-3. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources