Parental Notification

[fingerinthefissure]

I'm not sure how many of you out there were in a state that had this on their ballot. However, it was worded in such a way that made it seem more general and veiled the true intentions of the amendment. Fundamentally, it was to break the rules of doctor/patient confidentiality and notify parents of their daughter's pregnancy.

I moved states following the election (not due to the election by any means, ha) and within the first month I moved, I was approached by someone asking me to sign their petition for "parental notification." They felt this two word summary was enough justification to hand me a pen. When I asked for further information, he seemed taken aback and said it was for notifying parents of their children's "medical procedures." Not ONCE did he mention or lean to the word, ABORTION. So, I said to him "so, you mean abortion." He replies, "Yes, that's exactly what this is about." If that is what it was about all along, why didn't you offer that information to me? Ultimately, I said that I knew exactly what the petition was for and I voted AGAINST it in my previous state. However, what really got to me was that he wasn't explaining himself properly to others. It boiled my blood to think of how many ignorant people (and outside of Target, there are MANY) were signing his petition without asking any questions or doing any previous research topped by the fact that he wasn't willingly offering any information.

Very similar to this administration we are now underneath....

Just makes me want to spit.

[Halo]

I think this statement (from one of the many sites you can read about this subject) sums up my feelings exactly:

Parental involvement laws are a very controversial topic. There is a consensus in North America that a single teen who finds herself in an unwanted pregnancy should seek the support of empathic, caring, knowledgeable adults. Ideally, this should be her parents or guardians. Parental involvement laws make such notification of and/or consent by one or both parents or guardians mandatory. Unfortunately, not all teens live in a supportive home environment. Some are in dysfunctional families where the news of their pregnancy could precipitate emotional abuse, physical abuse or ejection from the home. This has forced some young women to seek out risky "back-alley" abortions.

I do hate the thought of a very young girl getting an abortion without her parents knowing. Especially thinking about if if I had daughter. But, like the statement above says, unfortunately not every child has supportive, caring parents. There will always be the girls that take advantage, such as a teen that does have good and caring parents but just doesn't want to "ruin" her "image" and other selfish reasons for not telling her parents. But without the laws in place, we cannot protect those teens that do not have support.

If you want to know what the laws are in your state, or try and change those laws.....check the "Resource" page here for representatives in your area to contact.