North Dakota's Senate has endorsed a proposal to allow young girls to seek medical care without notifying their parents if they are pregnant.

Under existing law, if a girl is younger than 18 and pregnant, she needs consent from a parent or guardian to get prenatal care. The legislation, which the Senate approved 46-0 on Thursday, allows a pregnant girl to consult a doctor privately. It now goes to the House for its review.

Sen. John Warner, D-Ryder, said the measure does not allow a minor to get an abortion without the knowledge of her parent or guardian.

"Early and appropriate prenatal care is important, not only for the health and well-being of the mother and child, but it does much to mitigate the extraordinary costs of premature birth and low birth weight babies," Warner said.

The legislation, Warner said, "strikes an appropriate balance between the need to access early pregnancy care, and the duties of parents to be involved in the medical decisions of their children."

State law already allows minors to consult a doctor without parental permission to get treatment for alcoholism, drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases.

"These are (instances) in which the public policy is to encourage young people to access medical services, rather than discouraging them from seeking them … in an appropriate and timely manner," Warner said.

The bill is SB2181.