Sarah Johnson was seventeen years old when she discovered that she was eleven weeks pregnant. As an honor roll student and active in her high school, she never would have imagined this situation to occur. She was accepted to a well respected college and had big plans for her future. Being raised in a strongly Catholic family and community, Sarah was forced to hide her pregnancy. Her state required parental consent and notification in order for her to undergo an abortion. The thought of having to sit down with her parents, attempting to explain the situation made her sick. She did everything she could think of to try to miscarry. She forced herself to drink poison, ran into walls, and even used a coat hanger to try to pass the fetus. Finally, Sarah decided she couldn’t do it alone. She was referred to a physician who would be willing to perform the abortion illegally. After the abortion was performed, Sarah developed intense bleeding and eventually was taken to a doctor where she discovered that she developed a severe infection. A few weeks later, Sarah Johnson died from the illegal abortion.
It is often found that when attempting to make an argument, some people look to extreme situations in order to prove a point. Sarah’s story is by no means an extreme case. 13% of all pregnant women’s deaths are due to illegal abortions (emedicinehealth 2009). This is a current issue that is affecting millions of women and must be addressed. A woman over the age of 16 should not be required to obtain parental consent or be forced to notify their parents. A minor under the age of 16 should also be eligible to receive an abortion if they first attain a court approved statement determining sufficient mental capacity to endure the procedure. With these ideas in mind, it is important to discover why teens hesitate to gain parental consent or notification, the dangers of back alley abortions, which can be defined as illegal abortions conducted by non registered physicians, , and the alteration in current abortion legislation.
Many pregnant teens are put into a traumatic experience of being forced to tell one or both parents about the pregnancy. While some teenagers may have supporting and understanding parents, others may not be so lucky. Fear of getting kicked out of their home, eternally disappointing their families, or terrified of a physically or mentally abusive parent’s reaction are all reasons a teen would withdraw from gaining parental consent and/or notification. With these matters in mind, it is also prudent to understand the timeline of an abortion. It is safest to undergo an abortion in the first trimester of a pregnancy. The farther into that trimester, the more dangerous it becomes. A teen may hesitate to approach a parent about this issue to such an extent that they miss the deadline. In an even worse situation, a teen may decide to travel to another state that does not require parental consent or notification in order to avoid telling a parent. Feeling pressured to do this as a teen is stressful, dangerous, and unnecessary. The outcome of this governmental pressure put on pregnant teens has led to many unsafe abortions.
Back alley abortions are one of the leading causes of severe injury and deaths for pregnant women. Before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, which gave pregnant women the choice to keep or abort their baby, illegal abortions were a very common solution. The lucky ones who undergo back alley abortions are those who walk away with minor or limited physical harm. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 68,000 women die a year due to unsafe abortions, while 5.3 million face temporary or permanent disability, ranging from infections to injured internal organs (Warriner 13). It is much more prudent to allow a healthy alternative for these individuals as opposed to forcing them to seek more dangerous alternatives.
In order to achieve this, the federal government must alter the current regulation of minors seeking abortions. This must be controlled by the government to ensure safety for all Americans, regardless of their age. Forcing a minor to deal with this matter by themselves is wrong and only leads to desperate decisions. Recent studies have shown that most teens confront at least one parent about the pregnancy in the first place. (Borgmann 1). While this involves most teens, it does not include all. The law must protect everyone, regardless of how understanding or supportive a parent is.
In summation, the federal government should take control of the abortion issue in its entirety. A bill must be passed to outlaw a state to require parental consent or notification for minors 16 and older in order to protect the health of these young adults. Also, it must order states to provide the option for minors under 16 to receive the procedure if approved through the court. Abortion, if performed by a licensed physician, is a safe procedure. The current legal status in regards to minors is forcing young women alone to risk their lives through desperation. These laws must be changed to help protect those who are unable to protect themselves. Caitlin Borgmann expressed this issue in perfect terms. “States continue to enforce these restrictions despite evidence that they do not serve their intended purpose, and are unnecessary for most teens and downright dangerous for others. It is worth a pause to reflect on these laws that now seem scarcely to merit a yawn from the courts” (Borgmann 1).
References:
Borgmann, Caitlin (2009). “Abortion Parental Notice Laws: Irrational, Unnecessary and Downright Dangerous” Jurist, 1
EMedicineHealth (2009). Abortion Overview. Accessed 9-24-09. Website: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/abortion/article_em.htm
Warriner, Ina K., & Shah, Iqual H. (2006) “Preventing Unsafe Abortions and its Consequences” Guttmacher Institution 1-247. Accessed 9-24-09. Website: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/07/10/PreventingUnsafeAbortion.pdf
I believe that Haylie has succeeded in pointing out the two strongest and most common arguments against parents having the right to prevent their minor daughters from having an abortion:
1) Some teenagers have unsupportive and/or abusive parents, and being forced to ask for their permission to have an abortion may put the girl in additional emotional, psychological and physical harm.
2) Requiring parental permission to have abortions increases the occurrence of illegal, ‘back alley’ abortions, and thus leading to greater injury and death for young teenage girls who become pregnant.
However, more arguments and reasoning must be made to fully convince me that a) the right for parents to be a part of this decision-making process should be taken away if a girl is 16 or older and b) the government should provide the option for minors under 16 to receive the procedure without parental consent if approved through the court (regardless of my actual beliefs and opinions).
According to Michael J. New, in states that possess parental-consent laws, the in-state minor abortion rates were decreased by 13 to 19 percent (2008). New also discussed an additional case study on the effectiveness of a parental-consent law enacted in Texas and reported that the law led to a statistically significant decline in the abortion rates of girls ages 15-17 (2008). According to these studies, parental-consent laws do have positive effects on young women in these states. If these laws have been scientifically proven to be extremely effectives in reducing abortion rates, why abolish them?
The option for minors under the age of 16 being able to gain permission for an abortion through the courts rather than through their parents, however, is not as ideal or effective as it seems. The amount of time, not to mention the courage and knowledge, required to obtain a judicial waiver may cause extreme delays in the abortion process, resulting in an increased amount of complications and increased possible harm to the mother (Hamilton, 2005). Thus, instead of allowing a young woman to safely make a decision and preserving the health of her body and mind, this option may increase psychological turmoil, emotional instability, and physical harm.
Hamilton, Tom. 2005. Abortion, Parental Consent. International Debate Education Association. Accessed 27 Sep 2009.
New, Michael J. 2008. The effect of parental involvement laws on the incidence of abortion among minors. Insight. 24 Sep 2008.
I agree with Haylie on her overall statement that, “A woman over the age of 16 should not be required to obtain parental consent or be forced to notify their parents.” Forcing any woman to risk her life to the point of desperation is wrong. The need to even have an abortion is a very scary circumstance and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Let alone being in that circumstance and then being forced to tell a parent, and tell that parent how it happened. What would be the outcome of a daughter telling her parent that she needed an abortion because a cousin or an uncle or even her own father raped her and she got pregnant? It would not be easy, I can tell you that. However, just as Haylie said, “Forcing a minor to deal with this matter by themselves is wrong and only leads to desperate decisions.” I believe that teens should at least be required to have someone going through the experience with them. Be it a friend, a neighbor, or even just someone else who has gone through the procedure, like an advocate. She should have someone to coach her along the difficult process. She should not have to be alone.
Haylie said that a legal abortion is a healthy alternative for teens. I agree that it is a healthy alternative, but it is just that: one alternative. Teens need to be informed about all of the options they have. Not all teens getting abortions will be coming from abusive families. They may possibly be coming from conservative families where the parents do not even teach their children about healthy sex options, let alone options for the occurrence of a pregnancy. Teens should be fully aware of all of their options before going through the irreversible option of an abortion.
I do however have to question the second part of Haylie’s mission statement. She says that, “A minor under the age of 16 should also be eligible to receive an abortion if they first attain a court approved statement determining sufficient mental capacity to endure the procedure.” What is the purpose of the age limit being 16? Why not 15 or even 13? And who ultimately is to decide that the teen has a sufficient mental capacity to endure the procedure?
I agree with Haylie that illegal abortions are being performed on women who would not feel comfortable going to their parents. They view these “back alley abortions” as a last resort. Haylie’s solution seems reasonable, but I do have a few concerns, mostly dealing with the society and legislation.
1). A bill must be passed to outlaw a state to require parental consent or notification for minors 16 and older in order to protect the health of these young adults.
To require legislation to change their laws that affect a teen’s body so much would be difficult to say the least. At age 16, they are not allowed to buy alcohol, vote, buy cigarettes, play the lottery, get a tattoo, or rent a car. It seems that if 16 year olds cannot do any of these things, passing legislation to give teen-age girls this amount of freedom with their bodies would be incredibly complicated.
2). A minor under the age of 16 should also be eligible to receive an abortion if they first attain a court approved statement determining sufficient mental capacity to endure the procedure.
Our judicial system is a slow moving body. By the time the girl realizes that she is pregnant, becomes aware of this solution, goes to court and gets the verdict it is highly possible that it could be too late for the procedure. A young woman under the age of 16 is still relying on her parents much more so than someone who has a driver’s license. With this amount of dependence, completing all of these actions without the notice of the parents is unlikely.
Although a strong argument was mentioned that a bill must be passed to eliminate parental consent for minors over 16 years old for an abortion, I noticed one aspect of this issue that was not addressed. Instead of dealing with minors requesting abortions, why not determine one source of the problem for high abortion rates? Depending on the method of sex education for teenagers, the information presented may influence their attitude and sexual activity. Even though the strategy of educating students is not the only factor determining their choices relating to sex, it is worth a further examination to correlate the behavior of teen girls and abortions.
During a study performed from 2001-2005, the Centers for Disease Control found that the state acceptance or refusal of abstinence funding correlated to the rate of teen abortions. States that accepted abstinence education funding saw a significantly lower percentage of teen abortions in contrast to the states that did not (Ertelt 1). In the age of 15 year olds and under, the statistics showed a 23.1 percent decrease in abortions within the states that accepted the abstinence monies compared to 7.5 percent reduction in abortions among the states rejecting grants. But overall, abortions on girls under 15 were 37.3 percent higher and girls under 19 years old were 48.2 percent higher than in states that denied abstinence only funding (Ertelt 1).
Even though I personally am not fully convinced that abstinence education is the best choice for students in order to make educated decisions relating to sex, the study demonstrated the decision of states to accept abstinence funding may have a greater correlation to reduce the abortion rate than I initially thought. Instead of debating over the need for parental consent, the government should reevaluate its sex education methods to prevent high abortion rates in the first place.
Ertelt, Steven. August 13, 2009. CDC Figures Show Teen Abortions Lower in States Accepting Abstinence Funds. LifeNews.com. Accessed 28 Sep 2009. Website: http://www.lifenews.com/state4347.html.
I see Haylie’s point about providing a safe avenue to abortion for girls who have a “fear of getting kicked out of their home, eternally disappointing their families, or terrified of a physically or mentally abusive parent’s reaction.” However, a majority of sixteen year old girls are going to be afraid of these things. As teenagers who are emotionally attached to the situation at hand they will not be able to see the bigger picture. Getting pregnant at a young age is not something many parents smile upon, but it is also not something that most parents have discussed with their daughters. Not knowing what the reaction will be is scary and what do most teenagers do with scary situations – avoid them. My concern with this bill that Haylie talks about for teenagers sixteen and older is that it is only one option they have, but it seems like the easiest one and the one that they will know about without talking to their parents. Why should sixteen year olds be thrown into a situation that is over their heads with the option to try to solve it on their own?
Laws are meant to protect us and that is what the parental consent or notification laws are doing. Sixteen year olds are barely allowed to drive, not allowed to gamble, buy or drink alcohol, purchase cigarettes, smoke, or even vote. There is a reason why the law has decided they are too young for these responsibilities. Haylie is correct in that, “Forcing a minor to deal with this matter by themselves is wrong and only leads to desperate decisions.” Which is why parents need to be involved, sixteen year olds are not old enough to decide what is best for them. Abortion can cause psychological damage, emotional trauma and fear, even physical damage. Girls of sixteen years of age are not old enough to endure this on their own. Nor should anyone younger than sixteen be subject to a courthouse all on their own. Protecting ALL Americans will be more successful with parental consent or notification laws than without.
I am very indecisive when it comes to this issue because though I do believe that women should have the right to decide what to do with their bodies, sixteen-year-olds like Mara explained are way too young to know what to do. I believe that the law should give young teenage girls two options. The first option would be to get permission from the parents to get the abortion. This way the parents can be involved with this procedure from the beginning. But, if the parents decide not to act or give permission, I believe that the girl should have the ultimate decision because it is her body. The second part of my proposition is the most important part. I am a strong advocate for women’s choice and that is why I believe it is important to still have that choice to young teens even if their parents do not agree because at least they told them about the situation.
Though parents may not want to hear that their six-teen year old daughter is pregnant, some way or another they need to understand that they need to be supportive and not judgmental. I understand that this may be difficult to some parents to face, but they should take into consideration that their daughter’s matters are theirs as well. Parents need to look at the overall picture, the health of their daughter rather than the action which is irreversible. Teen shouldn’t have to go through this issue alone especially at such young age. Requiring them to talk to their parents first may not be as bad as teens think. Parents may provide them with different options to take, because after all they probably want the best for their daughters. There are going to be those parents who will not be supportive of the idea, in this case I believe that the girl has the ultimate choice regardless of what the parents think or say. I also believe that if parents have a different way to go about the situation than the teen, the ultimate decision should still be the teen’s not those of the parents. This two way option not only gets the parents involved in an issue that may be too difficult for a teen to go thorough alone, but it also gives the teen her own decision.
Teenage girls getting illegal abortions is a situation that I’ve never really considered. As awful as that is, I don’t think that anyone under the age of 18 should be making the decision to have an abortion on their own. This is a very big decision to be making at such a young age and generally girls get an abortion when they see no way out, they’re scared and in this state of mind they can’t even wrap their mind around other options that are out there. That being said, Haylie’s argument makes it clear that something needs to be done about the abortion policy in the United States. No girl should feel like her only option is to go to another state and have an abortion just because she got pregnant at an inconvenient time. An advocacy program is something that could be set up so that the pregnant teenager has someone she could go to who would give her unconditional advice about how to handle this pregnancy. The advocate wouldn’t only be talking to her about abortion to ensure that the girl is aware of her options. Also, the advocate could be with the girl if she is required to inform her parents about the decision she has come to if she has in fact chosen to get an abortion, otherwise the advocate could be with the girl when she tells her parents that she is pregnant. I know my mom would be upset knowing that I didn’t feel comfortable just telling her on my own, so I feel like other parents would appreciate being told by their daughters that they’re pregnant.