Utah's abortion consent law has been signed by the governor and is set to take effect in May -- but the potential effects have some who work with pregnant teens worried.

The new law requires a parent's consent before a minor can have an abortion, with exceptions for medical emergencies and cases of incest. It also requires parental notification of an abortion even if the consent requirement is bypassed.

"It is our hope that it will lead to more family dialogue on this issue for underage minors, and that it will lead to fewer abortions," said Mike Mower, a spokesman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. The governor signed the bill last week.

"As the family engages in dialogue and the families are allowed to make the determinations with a minor-age child, it is something that will result in what is best for the minor and the unborn child," Mower said.

But the new law, while popular with Utah lawmakers, doesn't fit with the reality of teens, sex and pregnancy, said Karrie Galloway, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Utah.

"That's what frustrates me," Galloway said. "We pass laws based on moral issues and don't look at what happens in real life."

The Legislature "wanted an abortion vote," she said. "For the election in the fall, it will clearly state who voted."

Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden, sponsored the legislation and said the aim is to involve a pregnant teen's family in making an important decision.

"I think that we will have situations where when young girls go into Planned Parenthood or an abortion clinic, instead of being told right off the bat that they can get an abortion without their parents' consent, they will be told to go back," he said. "The best decision on the welfare of a child is made at home."

Furthermore, he noted that if a report of abuse or incest is made in seeking an exemption to parental consent, there's a mechanism in the law to involve the Department of Children and Family Services.

"We don't want kids in that kind of situation," he said.

Most teens aren't, even those who seek abortions, said Galloway. About 170 teenagers had abortions performed last year, she said, and "90 to 95 percent" of them had their parents with them during the process.

"We have one of the lowest rates for abortion in general. People here live their values," Galloway said. "The teens we're concerned about are the teens where communication is not good in the family."

State officials also deserve criticism for focusing on abortion restrictions while not taking other steps to reduce teen pregnancies, she said. It's a problem across the United States, which doesn't rank well compared to other industrialized countries in areas such as abortion rates and incidences of sexually transmitted diseases.

"It's not that our teens are having sex any more than those in Sweden or Norway or any other country. It's just that we're not educating," Galloway said. "We don't want to deal with ways to prevent pregnancy other than abstinence."

Gibson said those discussions should take place between parents and children.

"Those are things that belong in families," Gibson said. "I know there are some times that certain families shirk their responsibilities, but I don't think it's right for us as a society to take that away" from families that do handle those discussions at home.