Comments Related To: School-assisted abortions for minors in California

Here in Canada, it is my understanding that for a woman to have a D&C (Dilation and Curettage) have multiple pages of waivers they must sign. Much more than a (more invasive and risky) abortion.

Would the school not be open to lawsuit if the student had complications (physical or psychological) as a result?

My dear friend ErichaParks,
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My good wishes are always with you.
aarana.

I don't agree that minors, under 16, should get abortions without parental consent, but then I am in no position to judge whether Californian teenagers are better at deciding their own lives than their parents are. The issue here is not so much teen abortion as it is teen pregnancy. Teens should be taught by their families or in their schools how to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Free sex is great but it requires responsibility.

If half of what you say is true..I am shocked that parents are not
involved/informed in this process! Something stinky in state of
Denmark(Calif) methinks!

Jimmy Buffett said it all in his song "Fruitcakes" - in California they have it all...life's shake and bake with the quake, the secret's in the crust. :)

That scares me. 'Minors' and 'independent decision' does not go together, and that is precisely the reason why they are called minors. By allowing that to happen more harm is done than good; rift is created between parents and children. A minor may get raped and pregnant and the parents may never know about it - let alone the child having to do with the post-trauma of the incident. Minors are minors and should be treated like minors - cared for and guarded.

I think the key issue is education. Knowledge is power and unfortunately many immature and uninformed teens do not think through the consequences of their actions. It's a huge disadvantage for our sexually active youth that sex education has been done away with in so many schools.

I find myself in agreement that it is a very uncomfortable thing that minors can obtain an abortion without discussing it with their parents. I would like to think that, if I were a parent of a teenage daughter, we would have an open enough relationship that she would feel she could come to me if she found herself in such a situation.

But I have to weigh this against the consequences of requiring parental consent. And the mere idea of a parent refusing to give that consent and requiring the girl to carry to term a baby she does not want is far more repugnant to me.

Here is a startling prediction: Teenagers age going to continue having sex (gasp). They won't always make good decisions about using birth control, and even when they do, birth control sometimes fails. I believe abortion must remain an option for girls who find themselves in this position, and that in this particular case, parental rights have to be set aside in favor of her own rights. It's not a situation that I am comfortable with, and in an ideal world, where people didn't react so emotionally to such a situation, parents WOULD be involved. But we don't live in that world, and we have to make the best compromise we can.

Well, if the girls want sex and get themselves pregnant let them go, but
who is to support their offspring? Give the babies up for adoption. 10/6/2009.

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