Seems to me that if we need to write a law, rather than just let people use their own best judgment, then writing a law that says "tell the parents" protects a lot fewer people than writing a law that says "don't tell the parents."
In totally other news, and mememe, I've been playing with Google Earth (their Keyhole application), and I can see my house from here. But I can't see the house I grew up in, because their satellite imagery of Roswell sucks. Which proves, I guess, that Google is not run by the little green men from outer space.
Also, if society feels my 17 year old doesn't have the maturity/responsibility to drink, vote, gamble, view pornography, or enter into binding legal agreements, why would she automatically have the maturity/responsibility to make as important a decision as getting an abortion done?
But if a 17 year old gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby, there's not a thing her parents or anyone else can do to stop it, regardless of the maturity level, legal aspects, etc.
I'm not sure a "right to parent" is at issue here-- it seems to be a "right to stop your child's abortion."
Right to weigh in, right to guide, right to encourage, right to support, right to discuss, right to parent. Right to stop? I wouldn't support that.
Pardon my ignorance, but does parental notification also mean parental consent?
My rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ought to extend to not having my government help my children go behind my back, right when they need it most.
I think I see what you're saying here, at least as well as a non-parent can. But I have to wonder if the children's rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness aren't also an issue here. If the kid can't or won't go to the parent(s) to discuss birth control before getting pregnant, I don't see where discussing an abortion would be any easier. And the non-legal ways for a teenager (or any woman, really) getting an abortion seem more harmful to me than getting the abortion without parental support.
hate the stereotype of Planned Parenthood as some kind of drive-through abortion Wal-Mart. They offer counseling, they offer adoption services, they offer prenatal care.
I wasn't phrasing myself well, Jessica -- I do know all that. What I meant was that in situations of rape and incest, the pregnancy is only a tiny part of the problem. No matter what choice a girl makes, she needs more help than either an abortion or "Jesus will care for you and your baby." And I hope that the people she goes to for help would recognize that. It's less about what Planned Parenthood offers and more a sort of meta-recognition that there isn't a wonder drug in that situation.
If that makes sense.
Pardon my ignorance, but does parental notification also mean parental consent?
I believe often, but not always.
Seriously? Huh.
Yeah, wacky to me, too. Although now I'm entertained by the mental image of a teacher trying to confiscate my Midol.
In my high school, it was detention if you got caught with any medication, OTC or not.
They had this on the books at my high school, but when they had to call an ambulance for the kid who passed out having an asthma attack because he'd followed the rules and his inhaler was locked in the nurse's office and they couldn't find the nurse or a key....well, they kinda started looking the other way.
Of course, even while they had stuck to the rules, there was a fair amount of dealing going on, prescription and not.
when they had to call an ambulance for the kid who passed out having an asthma attack because he'd followed the rules and his inhaler was locked in the nurse's office and they couldn't find the nurse or a key..
Wow. This sounds like it would be lawsuit city.
