Should teen girls be required to notify their parents if they get an abortion?

[mickybrighteyes]

My comment was in reference to the literal and legal aspects of those words. You seem to be under the impression that I'm using "when life begins" and "person-hood" as synonyms when I'm actually pointing out that they're distinct concepts.

it's a grey area

people are at times declared as such for their ability to stand upright, speak and display mental development... I don't know how a newborn can display these traits.

edit:

the concept of abortion gets people all bothered because of everyones' ideas of murder... if it has yet to be born is it alive? once it's out is it a person? when do people decide to draw the line? and when does it start being a possible being and NOT a mess that can be easily discarded. You might say it's distinctly separate parts... but it seems there is a bit of fog around this subject matter.

[Mafic]

Abortion is a major surgery and legal guardians should be informed. Because if something goes wrong the legal guardians are liable and the state comes after the legal guardians for not looking after the welfare of a child.

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it's a grey area

people are at times declared as such for their ability to stand upright, speak and display mental development... I don't know how a newborn can display these traits.

edit:

the concept of abortion gets people all bothered because of everyones' ideas of murder... if it has yet to be born is it alive? once it's out is it a person? when do people decide to draw the line? and when does it start being a possible being and NOT a mess that can be easily discarded. You might say it's distinctly separate parts... but it seems there is a bit of fog around this subject matter.

Brainwave activity is usually an indicator of human life. This is the boundary where most in the medical field declare someone dead or not coming back (no brainwave activity).

The grey area is when can human life sustain itself with its own biological system. Obviously a fetus before term can not sustain itself but technology has improved so much that premature babies are born and grow normally.

[DSRilk]

Children also have rights, where do you want to draw the line with this? Should it involve any medical procedure? And if not, why is abortian not included in those exceptions?

Their rights are very limited, as they should be. A child simply does not generally have the faculties to understand true long term ramifications. I'm sure there are some kids that have a decent grasp, and I'm certain there are some parents that don't. However, the odds are drastically in favor of the person with several decades of experience in the real world over the a 15 year old who has barely made it through some of high school.

Where should we draw the line? Abuse, defined by the current socially agreed upon definition thereof - because there's sadly no better option. At least for those of us who do not believe we've been handed rules from on high. Sometimes this will end poorly; other times not. It's just far more likely to end poorly when you allow the drastically under-experienced person make the call.

So, is 18 a reasonable place where a child suddenly becomes capable of making these kinds of decisions for themselves? It obviously differs by person. However, from a practical standpoint, 18 is somewhat reasonable in today's western society (the only one I'm familiar enough with to speak on). No rule on any of this is going to be perfect, but I believe we get better results by having the best rules we can rather than no rules.

[Venant]

Were it my daughter; I'd prefer she got an abortion in secret (safely), than carry out an unwanted pregnancy because she was afraid to tell me she wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

Do you believe your 14 year old daughter has the right to privacy if she wants to engage in a sexual relationship with her 43 year old teacher?

[Doctor Amadeus]

Yes, it should be her decision, but parent should always be informed.

[Shadowferal]

It's not the girl, it's the doctor that needs to inform. (Kid will be a kid. The professional older person had better be the mature adult, and also remember his license can be revoked)

[Xandrigity]

Yes for safety reasons. Incase they develop a complication. Not neseassrily before, but defiantly after.

[sopeonaroap]

Everywhere in the US 18 is the age you turn into a legal adult, so you're not really considered a "teenager" at that point legally...but you can still get called one.

not true, you have to be 19 in a lot of states to sign a lease or do a lot of other things that adults do

[GennGreymane]

Abusive families exist.

[analmoose]

MANY years ago when I was 16 I snuck down to planned parenthood and got birth control and my mom never found out about it. Now, I have a daughter that I was planning to put on birth control when she becomes of age (16-17-ish) and I can say I would want to know if she ever got one but I wouldnt punish her either.

Most start having sex at 14, I'd get on it sooner tbh

[endersblade]

I would prefer to know she went through with it. I would 100% support it, for sure, but I know that's a very stressful situation and would want more than anything to comfort her so she knows she made the right decision. Much better than her doing it in secret and then forever beating herself up over it.

So I would say no on REQUIRING it, I would just hope my child was good enough to do it on her own. Or at the least, talk to her mom about it, since girls apparently have an aversion to bringing stuff like that up to their dads. (I don't seem to have that barrier and will happily carry on conversations with my mother, who also doesn't have that barrier, about sexual and personal things like we were talking about the weather. She has more experience, AND experience from the other side, and that is valuable.)

[MoFalcon]

If I'm old enough to get pregnant, I'm old enough to not depend on my guardians for this particular decision.

I've seen girls BEFORE their teens, Pregnant.

Being fertile doesn't mean you have the ability to make an informed choice without an adult input. again, i'm saying informed parents, not making the choice for the girl.

This was a pretty thoughtless thing to say.

I think at a certain age, its should be up to the girl/woman to make that choice. what that age is i'm not sure, but typically most legal age restrictions are 15 or 16 or 17 depending on the state. somewhere in that range would sound reasonable to me.

[Masark]

Abusive families exist.

Abusive families are absurdly common.

[s_bushido]

Abortion is a major surgery

lol...no. Just, no.

90% of abortions take place prior to 13 weeks (that number presumably includes non-surgical abortions as well), using a procedure that takes all of 10-15 minutes to perform. If that's "major surgery" then so is clipping off a freaking skin tag.

[Jotaux]

No, that would just lead to unsafe back alley abortions.

[Talsar]

I've seen girls BEFORE their teens, Pregnant.

Being fertile doesn't mean you have the ability to make an informed choice without an adult input. again, i'm saying informed parents, not making the choice for the girl.

This was a pretty thoughtless thing to say.

I think at a certain age, its should be up to the girl/woman to make that choice. what that age is i'm not sure, but typically most legal age restrictions are 15 or 16 or 17 depending on the state. somewhere in that range would sound reasonable to me.

I mean if a girl before her teens is pregnant I'd suggest it be reported to the police (or child protective services) as the chances of it being non-consensual are pretty high at that age.

[kail]

Not unless the parents are paying for it.

[Kellorion]

Yes, the clinic informs some sort of counselor 3rd party, and they inform the parents. And the boys parents should also be informed.

[Deleted]

No. as it is written in the book of "dont be a damn twat" And i quote " Their body their choice"

[Mistame]

it's a grey area

people are at times declared as such for their ability to stand upright, speak and display mental development... I don't know how a newborn can display these traits.

edit:

the concept of abortion gets people all bothered because of everyones' ideas of murder... if it has yet to be born is it alive? once it's out is it a person? when do people decide to draw the line? and when does it start being a possible being and NOT a mess that can be easily discarded. You might say it's distinctly separate parts... but it seems there is a bit of fog around this subject matter.

The issue is generally either ignorance or blatant disregard of the distinction. Those that use the "life begins..." argument are simply engaging in an appeal to emotion. The reality is that even a single cell is technically "life", so that entire argument becomes moot. It's more rational to focus on person-hood, especially when taking into consideration the mother's bodily autonomy, due to it referring to a separate, individual human being. There is no requirement of any degree of physical or mental development, only that it's a separate human being capable of surviving outside of the womb.