This publication seeks to explain the many facets of adolescent abortion: teenagers' need for access to safe abortion; the need for confidentiality in order to ensure safety; the real intent and effect of parental involvement laws; and the roles of parents and the state in safeguarding the health of pregnant teenagers. The first section looks at unwanted pregnancies and the choice of abortion. The next section focuses on teenage pregnancy, looking at teenage sexual activity and contraceptive use and considering parent-child communication about sex. Included is information on the public cost of teenage childbearing. This is followed by a section examining the alternatives to abortion--teenage childbearing and adoption. A section on adolescents and confidentiality addresses the issues of minors and their need for reproductive health care, adults and parental involvement laws, and compelled parental involvement delays on abortion decisions. A section on adolescent abortion and the Supreme Court reviews five relevant court decisions. Following a final word about the dangers of restricting adolescent abortion rights are a list of references and two appendices providing a state-by-state breakdown on the status of parental consent and nonfiction laws and related information. Tables and figures are included throughout the document. (NB)