How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

Not me. I'm not old fashion in that way. Kids are going to have sex and it is up to both of them to take precautions. It would be just as much my daughter's fault as the guy's.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

Because preventing someone from getting an abortion, or a legal abortion, may have a slightly higher consequence than preventing her from getting her ears pierced.

And while many teens may fear their parents response to the fact that they are having sex, they probably don't have such a great fear to the fact that they want to get their ears pierced.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

Given the consequence of getting an abortion are also quite high, it's only slightly counterintuitive that one would be less insistent in ensuring that the person be informed about all the risks and consequences of either choice.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

I think you have this upside down. It is precisely because the consequences are so high that we require consent.

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It's also quite possible that she did discuss it with her parents.

There's also the consideration that if she can't go to a physician to have an abortion because her parents will find out, she'll try to take care of things herself.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

And shoot your daughter?

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But with that attitude, it seems that there's no need for parental notification of anything sexual. She's dealing with it as best she can.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
To the contrary, all butone of these laws has a judicial bypass option, and (as the chart shows), in many states one is not limited to parents (let alone both of them). (In fact, I thought that some case held the lack of a bypass was unconstitutional, so I'm surprised Utah can do it, but maybe it was a circuit case.)

No, I'm really arguing that government -- including courts -- should not intrude so heavily into private life as to tell a person what she must and must not tell her parents. The fact that a judge can grant an exception is not enough comfort in my view. Perhaps my level of trust on the elected state court judges who would handle this sort of thing is too low. Or my belief that requiring a 16 yo girl to initiate and go thru this process is too high.



Not in my view, provided that the counseling is confidential. Obviously it depends on the specifics.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

You were asking why someone bothered by the idea of parental consent for abortion is not equally bothered by the idea of parental consent for ear piercing.

My response was that, if a girl can't get her ears pierced because she's afraid to tell her parents, it's no big deal. If she can't get a safe, legal abortion because she's afraid to tell her parents, it's a much bigger deal.

Explain to me how that is upside down.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

Given that the health risks of a young girl carrying a pregnancy to term are probably higher than getting an abortion by a licensed, experienced doctor . . .

For people in urban areas, none of the restrictions are very onerous. For someone in a more rural area or small town, going to the local judge can be akin to announcing to the whole town you are pregnant. No, it shouldn't be, but it can be. And there is unlikely to be a practitioner within easy traveling distance, so the "wait a week" or "wait 2 days" requirement is not the relatively simple hurdle it might seem.


oh, fuck it, this is such a pointless argument. No one EVER EVER changes their minds.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

No - the person that performed the abortion. Most guys would see this as a violation.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

Huh? Because I'm not going to disproportionately blame the guy, there is no need for parental notification?

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Because you suggest that parental notification not be required because the stakes are so high.

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The "under 18" part of this discussion just struck me. I was emancipated from my parents when I was 17. I don't pay that much attention to parental notification requirements, but I didn't talk to my parents from ages 17 - 23 or so (lived 100 miles apart, never saw them). It would have been laughable for me to show up on their doorstep and expect them to assist me with a decision. Would the law have required me to talk to them about an abortion even though they weren't even a part of my life at that time? Or are there exceptions for emancipated teenagers?

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

I don't have problems with mandatory counseling for minors.

Also, in Texas minors can consent to a lot without parental involvment. Treatment for reportable communicable diseases, care during pregnancy, drug and alcohol treatment. It's up to the physician's professional judgement on whether or not to tell the parents about what's going on.

From a practical standpoint, it's also a good idea to ask some health questions from kids without a parent knowing the answer. For example, before any female over the age of 12 can get an abdominal X-ray, you absolutely need to know whether or not the patient is pregnant. Having mom in the room when you ask her if there's a possibility that she's pregnant doesn't really help in getting to the answer, because kid will either lie about whether or not she's having sex, or mom will say "of course not" and glare at the kid, daring her to contradict mom. There are hundreds of other reasons that a health care provider might want to know if a patient is pregnant.