I've been there now!!!

Yay for seeing the Water Tower! I like its grandiose Victorian pomposity all wrapped up in Joliet limestone. Laga used to have Oscar Wilde's observation about the Water Tower as a tagline, about it being "a castellated monstrosity with pepper pots stuck all over it."

Kathy, I'm glad you were okay w/ not meeting up.

I was so tired after my 8-hour shift at the bookstore that, when I came home to your voice mail that you had to bail, quite frankly, I cheered. We definitely have to arrange a get-together next time you're in town, maybe a brunch on Saturday or Sunday, and see if more Chicagoistas can join us!

"A minor seeking a waiver would not have to pay court fees, would be provided other assistance in the case by the court, and would be entitled to an attorney appointed by the court. The identity of the minor would be kept confidential. The court would generally have to hear and issue a ruling within three business days of receiving the waiver request. The appellate court would generally have to hear and decide any appeal within four business days."

Gut reaction: Lip service. Doesn't mean anything when you are talking about the reality in most situations.

I used to have phone fear. Now I am impervious. I got that through phonebanking. They can only fume ineffectually after all. Not that I haven't been called every name but a child of god over the years. (Nice family values, babe!)

Cat Tank Play House

Also, Cat Firetruck Play House!

I told our volunteer coordinator that only Obama could make me overcome my phone fear. He laughed. I need to arrange childcare for some work this week.

I think parental notification laws, even carefully written ones, fail to grasp the desperation in the worst of circumstances. It seems like a great idea but this would require some sort of case management--having someone help the girl navigate this system. Most reproductive care centers (Planned Parenthood) are muzzled by federal law and can't "recommend" abortion.

When I went in for my pregnancy test when I was 18, the nurse asked me what I wanted to do. I said the word and she silently handed me a brochure with a number to call. She said she couldn't say anything more to me about it. The number I called simply asked how far along I was, told me how much it cost and scheduled an appointment. Nobody offered to help me, answer any questions or provide any support.

I can't imagine approaching a total stranger and getting that kind of help, or how they would navigate the process to keep federal dollars for family planning without "advocating abortion"--which is where prolifers want places like Planned Parenthood's budgets gutted.

Gut reaction: Lip service. Doesn't mean anything when you are talking about the reality in most situations.

The word "generally" is key in that explanation. And honestly, the bigger thing for me is that I do not believe that a girl who gets pregnant in a abusive situation should have to go to court to get permission to have an abortion, and there's no way to write a statute to prevent that from happening. Getting pregnant is terrifying enough--how many teen girls have it in them to fight their way through a court hearing when they are already scared and ashamed? And how would these girls even know the procedure to follow or have a way to GET to court without the parent finding out?

Sorry, megan, I'm not trying to pile on you. This issue carries a lot of baggage for me between my work as a teacher and my work as a domestic violence crisis counselor.

I don't feel piled on.

I don't love the idea of notification, but I do feel strongly about people performing medical procedures on minors without informed consent, so I'm trying to weigh those two things in mind. No one else can decide for me; that's why we each get a vote.

I now find myself wondering how other Western countries deal with the informed consent issue.

I used to feel that way, too, Megan.

Then I had the realization that a teen doesn't have to get consent, or notify anyone, if she chooses to keep the baby. And having a baby is also a "medical procedure" that is actually far more dangerous, statistically, than having an abortion.

I'm not thrilled with it either way. But I can't see how it helps a scared teenager to tell a parent about her pregnancy if she hadn't already planned to. If you're close to your parents, you'll tell them anyway. If you're not, a law isn't going to make you suddenly have a good, supportive relationship. Plus, my two OB/GYN friends say the way this proposition is worded puts all of the burden for notification on the doctors. And sheeeeet, I can barely get in to see my GYN, much less actually get her to make calls on my behalf if I need it.

I was flipping through the book version of Stuff White People Like during lunch and now the entire front page of The Onion A.V. Club is a dense singularity of all things White People Like:

Morrissey
Office Space
Sesame Street
Of Montreal
Charlie Kaufman
Jon Hodgman
Samantha Bee

Hmm, one thing to remember is that parents are not in fact required to give informed consent for such things as a broken leg. Nor do you need judicial bypass. If a kid has a broken leg, a doctor or emergency tech can set it, and worry about stuff like notifying the parent later. And you know if a kid could go to any ob-gyn and get an abortion maybe you could argue it wasn't an emergency. But "moderates" have been so supportive in helping wingnuts nibble away at abortion rights, that in a lot of cases it will take a two day bus trip for a kid to get to a clinic where an abortion can be performed. At any rate even for kids in urban areas it can take some real digging to find a place - cause if you are in a poor area the odds are good all your local hospitals are owned by places exercising consience clauses. So any additional restrictions - such as notification or burdensome red tape to avoid notification - will discourage kids from getting safe legal abortions. But but not from trying something dumb with a coat hangers. I guess it is all a matter of how seriously you weigh a few dead teenagers.