I completely understand your wanting parental notification (for one thing, it is a medical procedure), but what about the cases where the child's fear of abuse/retribution is founded? Should a claim of "my parents will kill me!" automatically be investigated in those cases? (I'd think that at least examining the kid for signs of abuse would be called for in that case.)
Yes, at least any credible claim. That is a police and [whatever state department of families and children] issue. When my children are already 18, but still in high school, they are not allowed to take a Tylenol at the nurses office, without my consent. They are not allowed to have any other non-emergency surgical procedures without my informed consent. I think the requirement should only mandate that one custodial parent be told, though.
Is parental notification worth it to you, knowing that there are real life examples, post-Roe, of children in non-abusive middle-class families taking matters into their own hands and dying as a result?
Yes, because there have been cases like that, even where abortion is legal and accessible, and parental notification wasn't an issue.
If my minor daughter conceived and was going to abort, I would need to know that, in order to properly parent her. Now, personally, I would not force my child to either have a child, or have an abortion (exception: If her life were at stake in carrying a child to term, I might insist she abort). But she would need me. She would possibly/probably be scared to death to tell me, but she would actually need, and benefit from my parenting. And if she chose to abort, she would need me to know, so that if there were a post-surgical complication, she wouldn't be hiding up in her room, bleeding to death, or going into sepsis, because she was to ashamed to tell me. And she would need the emotional support, as well. Not to mention, women die from legal, medical abortions sometimes, too.
Well, we did get that brief cloudburst and now it's kind of humid but cool out and not raining. Still overcast but radar shows everything as very clear.
My cousin is a midwife/public health practioner who practices in a lot of Latino communities. She saw lots of teenage girls who would face being imprisoned in their own homes until they gave birth or forcibly married, let alone being badly badly beaten if they had to tell their parents. And there are those who don't want to tell parents because one of their parents (usually a stepfather) is the father. I think the law is there to protect the rights of those in the worst circumstances, and those are the children who need it.
When my children are already 18, but still in high school, they are not allowed to take a Tylenol at the nurses office, without my consent.
I have to wonder how much of this rule is for the school's protection rather than the child's. It sounds more like an "avoid lawsuit" maneuver than anything else.
Soon we will also all be librarians. Keep this in mind if you move here, GC.
Okay, this right here is hysterical as I am a.) in a librarian position now (albeit in a tech pubs capacity) and b.)have been thinking of going back to school for my Masters. Hee! Anyway, thanks for the info on gayness in NC. I'm really seriously considering a relocation. I mean, I could sell my condo in NC and use the profit to buy an actual house almost outright in NC. That alone is a huge motivator... Also, my co has a Durham location. I'm very very tempted and the GF hasn't said no.
Now, on the abortion/parental rights issue, I gotta side with the kid.
Edited to remove Too Much Information.
My cousin is a midwife/public health practioner who practices in a lot of Latino communities. She saw lots of teenage girls who would face being imprisoned in their own homes until they gave birth or forcibly married, let alone being badly badly beaten if they had to tell their parents. And there are those who don't want to tell parents because one of their parents (usually a stepfather) is the father. I think the law is there to protect the rights of those in the worst circumstances, and those are the children who need it.
But there already laws, at least on the books, to address those situations, which do not remove from law-abiding, loving parents, the right to parent their children. And if those laws are not being effectively enforced, that's what needs addressing, and it needs to be addressed in a way that does not remove rights from the law abiding.
Also? If a minor child is pregnant by a step-father, the law needs to be stepping in to address the molestation and (likely other abuse) in that home.
Most women who are murdered are murdered by lovers/husbands. Should we put all the men on an island, somewhere?
When my children are already 18, but still in high school, they are not allowed to take a Tylenol at the nurses office, without my consent.
FWIW, I definitely remember taking medication at the nurse's office in high school without my parents being notified or consulted. (And I went to high school in MA, and didn't turn 18 until after I graduated.)
I have to wonder how much of this rule is for the school's protection rather than the child's. It sounds more like an "avoid lawsuit" maneuver than anything else.
I'm sure it is. But my kid can't go get a mole removed without my consent.
And not for nothing, but I moved out of my parents' house when I was still a minor, and I don't believe they had any idea what I was doing medically, much less sexually. (NOTE TO MY PARENTS: I HAVE NEVER HAD SEX.)
