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.
Not piled on, but somewhat offended at this point.
umm, wow. I am pretty sure no one is flippant about dead teenagers.
I knew a girl who got pregnant at age 16. She used birth control but it failed. Her mother was a devout Catholic and an overpowering matriach. My friend snuck off to have an abortion, because her mother wouldn't have allowed it.
Without that abortion she wouldn't have been able to go to college, and get a post-graduate degree and the career she currently has (and a marriage and three children).
The person who is pregnant should be able to decide whether they want to continue the pregnancy. Ideally they could turn to their parents for support, but there's really no guarantee that they'll find support there.
Notification is just one of myriad ways that opponents to abortion have changed their strategy from outlawing it, to simply throwing up so many roadblocks that it ceases to be an option.
Not piled on, but somewhat offended at this point.
Sorry, didn't intend to add to that.
I got the feeling when I read Typo Boy's post that he was talking to all of the neocons out there who are trying desperately to nibble away at abortion rights, and not specifically to megan.
I think ballots should have an Emerson Cod option. Yes, No, or Oh HELL NO!
I was in Iowa over the weekend so I missed stuff. Congrats to bonBob! Happy Birthday to Brenda and quick recovery to Lucy! And appropriate wishes to anyone I've missed.
Now I need to gather myself to go to a rehearsal I don't want to go to.
Sorry, didn't intend to add to that.
Please don't be. Most of you are reasonably articulating the reasons that I will probably vote no.
ETA: I can't seem to edit the rest that got ett. Oh well.
