Senate set to pass minors abortion bill

SuzannePjamSuzannePjam Posts: 411
edited July 2006 in A Moving Train
Senate set to pass minors abortion bill

Measure punishes those who help girls cross state lines for procedure

CAPITOL HILL - The Senate today is expected approve a bill that punishes anyone who helps a girl cross state lines to obtain an abortion without notifying her parents.

The House passed the measure last year.

Opponents say the bill cuts off an escape route for pregnant teens with abusive parents and punishes those who might try to help the youngsters.

California Democrat Dianne Feinstein says she'll introduce an amendment to protect confidants from prosecution.

Polls suggest widespread public backing for the bill. Nearly three-quarters of respondents say a parent has the right to give consent before a child under 18 has an abortion.

There are no reliable figures on how many girls try to cross state lines to end pregnancies to circumvent parental notification and consent laws back home.
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Comments

  • You really have to wonder about a person who would take a child to another state to get a medical procedure without consulting that child's parents.......but this law is inappropriate and wrong.
  • Bu$chlagerBu$chlager Posts: 498
    I can only imagine some of the crazy replies of outrage to this, but in all seriousness, this is a good and necessary law. And I'm Pro-Choice.

    - Dan
  • 1970RR1970RR Posts: 281
    You really have to wonder about a person who would take a child to another state to get a medical procedure without consulting that child's parents.......but this law is inappropriate and wrong.
    Maybe the boyfriend??
  • Bu$chlagerBu$chlager Posts: 498
    1970RR wrote:
    Maybe the boyfriend??

    Are you implying that this would be appropriate? That this makes it okay?

    For a young male, presumably also a minor, but maybe not, fleeing the girls home state without letting her parents know, do get a procedure as serious as an abortion?

    Do you care at all for this poor young girls safety?

    Do you care at all for her health and well being?

    Do you care whether or not she is informed, or at least has received a few words from someone with perhaps a tad more wisdom than the male minor who knocked her up?

    I apologize if you are not in fact disagreeing with me, as I wasn't toally clear on your post, but I get the vibe that you are oppossed to the law. Again, I am Pro-Choice, so it's not an issue of getting the abortion for me, it's just a common sense issue that things of this nature should not be allowed to happen.

    - Dan
  • 1970RR wrote:
    Maybe the boyfriend??

    Ok. Does this somehow make it ok???
  • LesbelgesLesbelges Posts: 434
    It seems to me like this law is warranted... What the law is trying to do is keep young girls from avoiding the consequences of being pregnant and therefore making them more responsible. The law would not stop them from having abortions, it would just force the girls to notify her parents which would teach them to be more responsible and take more precautions.
    I have not formed a clear opinion on abortion so I am kind of impartial on this subject. I think that rape victims should be alowed to have one, however I get mad when I hear that some young girl has had 3 already. There is no need for this if you take the pill or use condoms. I think these type of girls really just don't see the moral issue, and by forcing them to notify the parents something might be done....For example the parents could start buying her condoms or the pill and then she can be worry free from then on.

    So to sum up this rambling...It seems like this law does not limit whether or not she can have an abortion, just that she has to let her parents know and that in most cases this is a good thing (although I'm sure they will get mad, but it's a good way to increase awareness on the issue).
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  • MCGMCG Posts: 780
    Good law, young girls need to know that abortion is NOT to be viewed as a form of birth control. For FUCK's SAKE (pardon my language) use a condom!There are so many forms of birth control out there that you wouldn't think abortion would even need to be an option but I guess there's an idiot born every minute. I have no problem with abortion being used under certain circumstances but minors need to get the notion that they can have unprotected sex and then just get an abortion out of their heads.
    Which came first,
    the bad idea or me befallen by it?
  • know1know1 Posts: 6,794
    This is a good law.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • 1970RR1970RR Posts: 281
    BUSH-lager wrote:
    Are you implying that this would be appropriate? That this makes it okay?

    For a young male, presumably also a minor, but maybe not, fleeing the girls home state without letting her parents know, do get a procedure as serious as an abortion?

    Do you care at all for this poor young girls safety?

    Do you care at all for her health and well being?

    Do you care whether or not she is informed, or at least has received a few words from someone with perhaps a tad more wisdom than the male minor who knocked her up?

    I apologize if you are not in fact disagreeing with me, as I wasn't toally clear on your post, but I get the vibe that you are oppossed to the law. Again, I am Pro-Choice, so it's not an issue of getting the abortion for me, it's just a common sense issue that things of this nature should not be allowed to happen.

    - Dan
    I just have a couple of concerns with this law. First, my understanding is that the law does not allow for the minor female to be prosecuted - only the person who provides the assistance to cross a state line. I would think that, except in cases were the minor is forced against her will, all parties should be treated as criminals. And along that line, why is not a crime for a girl to seek abortions in other states on her own?
    Second, how is a married girl under 18 treated under this law?
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    You really have to wonder about a person who would take a child to another state to get a medical procedure without consulting that child's parents.......but this law is inappropriate and wrong.

    It could be the woman's grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, other trusted adult, etc. It could also be a social worker.

    I wouldn't call this person a 'child' either. She clearly gets her period. She may be a minor in regards to the law, but she's not a child.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    MCG wrote:
    Good law, young girls need to know that abortion is NOT to be viewed as a form of birth control. For FUCK's SAKE (pardon my language) use a condom!There are so many forms of birth control out there that you wouldn't think abortion would even need to be an option but I guess there's an idiot born every minute. I have no problem with abortion being used under certain circumstances but minors need to get the notion that they can have unprotected sex and then just get an abortion out of their heads.

    Yeah, and I just read a post by one.

    Birth control isn't 100% effective. Also, abstinence-only education doesn't help teens in regards to birth control options.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    Lesbelges wrote:
    The law would not stop them from having abortions, it would just force the girls to notify her parents which would teach them to be more responsible and take more precautions.

    I can see that working really well when it's the dad who knocked her up. Or the parent who will 'get mad' and beat her.

    In my experience, most minors bring parents. The ones who don't, have a very good reason.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGin wrote:
    It could be the woman's grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, other trusted adult, etc. It could also be a social worker.

    Again, how does this necessarily justify the action? If my 15 year-old neice asked me to take her across a state line to have an abortion without the knowledge of her mother and father, I would never be comfortable doing it.
    I wouldn't call this person a 'child' either. She clearly gets her period. She may be a minor in regards to the law, but she's not a child.

    If you're going to play it that way, you better be ok if a parent decides to completely cut off the person from any financial support.


    I'm not defending this law. I don't think such a law should exist. But a person who takes a child to get a medical procedure without informing that child's parents is choosing a very questionable route.
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    Again, how does this necessarily justify the action? If my 15 year-old neice asked me to take her across a state line to have an abortion without the knowledge of her mother and father, I would never be comfortable doing it.

    The last thing I have time for today is to go through some unnecessarily long drawn-out circle of reasoning with you.

    That's great if you won't be comfortable with it, but I hope the hypothetical niece finds someone who would.

    I don't care if the parents don't take a minor. Again, when the parents aren't there, there is always a good reason. I hope she goes with someone she trusts. It's her choice.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • MCGMCG Posts: 780
    VictoryGin wrote:
    Yeah, and I just read a post by one.

    Thanks for taking it to a personal level as opposed to constructive discussion.
    Which came first,
    the bad idea or me befallen by it?
  • surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
    As a parent I don't want anyone being able to take my kid across state lines to get any type of medical procedure without my consent. This is not an abortion issue.

    For all you people who think it's okay for people other than parents to be making medical decisions for their children, please start sending child support now. Because if you want to have the responsibility for making medical decisions then you can also have the fiscal responsibility for raising the kid.

    Why is it so hard for others to keep their noses out of family affairs?
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
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  • VictoryGin wrote:
    The last thing I have time for today is to go through some unnecessarily long drawn-out circle of reasoning with you.

    There's no need to involve me. You may ask those questions to yourself.
    That's great if you won't be comfortable with it, but I hope the hypothetical niece finds someone who would.

    I would hope that my hypothetical niece would discuss the issue with her parents. And if she came to me about it, I would give her exactly that advice along with any additional thoughts I wished to provide on the situation.
    I don't care if the parents don't take a minor. Again, when the parents aren't there, there is always a good reason. I hope she goes with someone she trusts. It's her choice.

    A scared child who wishes to hide her responsibility is not a "good reason". Such an event would be common in between the extreme examples of children with abusive parents.

    It is her choice. And it is the choice of anyone who wishes to participate in the action. As I said, I would not support legislation that eliminates that choice. But I would support an honest questioning of the motives and reasoning of someone who believes that a parent should not be informed of such large decisions that a child is making.
  • floyd1975floyd1975 Posts: 1,350
    surferdude wrote:
    any type of medical procedure without my consent. This is not an abortion issue.


    This is where I always find the sticking point on this issue (and one that is not brought up enough).
  • surferdude wrote:
    As a parent I don't want anyone being able to take my kid across state lines to get any type of medical procedure without my consent. This is not an abortion issue.

    It is an abortion issue. 16-year old girls aren't asking their aunts or grandparents to take them across state lines so they can get appendectomies.
    "Of course it hurts. You're getting fucked by an elephant."
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    MCG wrote:
    Thanks for taking it to a personal level as opposed to constructive discussion.

    I used a word from your post. You suggested that pregnant teens are idiots. Unless you were calling other people idiots? Please do correct me if I'm wrong about who you were calling an idiot. Don't dish it out and whine about it when you get a taste.

    Here's your post:
    Good law, young girls need to know that abortion is NOT to be viewed as a form of birth control. For FUCK's SAKE (pardon my language) use a condom!There are so many forms of birth control out there that you wouldn't think abortion would even need to be an option but I guess there's an idiot born every minute. I have no problem with abortion being used under certain circumstances but minors need to get the notion that they can have unprotected sex and then just get an abortion out of their heads.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    It is an abortion issue. 16-year old girls aren't asking their aunts or grandparents to take them across state lines so they can get appendectomies.

    Totally. And why do you think that is, eh?
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • Bu$chlagerBu$chlager Posts: 498
    VictoryGin wrote:
    I don't care if the parents don't take a minor. Again, when the parents aren't there, there is always a good reason. I hope she goes with someone she trusts. It's her choice.

    It's nice that you're willing to make a rediculous generalization to justify your arguement, but it just doesn't fly with me. There is NO WAY that every single girl who gets pregnant and tries to avoid letting her parents know is doing so because of incest and/or abuse. That's completely absurd.

    There are countless reasons why the girl could be pressured into going to such lengths, many of which include a sleazy boyfriend who wants to skirt all responsibilities for his actions. Other girls are emarrassed. Others are afraid of what people will think/say. A lot of kids worry about a lot of things, and when they finally come clean to their parents, it's never as bad as they had it in their head.

    To state as fact that it's "always a good reason" why a girl would hide a pregnancy just shows your complete lack of understanding of the issue.

    - Dan
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    BUSH-lager wrote:
    To state as fact that it's "always a good reason" why a girl would hide a pregnancy just shows your complete lack of understanding of the issue.

    - Dan

    Oh yeah? I've worked in an abortion clinic for years. What about you?
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGin wrote:
    Totally. And why do you think that is, eh?

    Because it would never occur to a child to hide an appendectomy from his/her parent.
  • Bu$chlagerBu$chlager Posts: 498
    VictoryGin wrote:
    Oh yeah? I've worked in an abortion clinic for years. What about you?

    LOL

    Why am I not surprised?

    Like I said, if it works to rationalize sweeping generalizations, and to state as fact things that any rational, unbiased person knows not to always be true, then fine. Go for it.

    But don't expect people not to call you on it.

    - Dan
  • MCGMCG Posts: 780
    VictoryGin wrote:
    I used a word from your post. You suggested that pregnant teens are idiots. Unless you were calling other people idiots? Please do correct me if I'm wrong about who you were calling an idiot. Don't dish it out and whine about it when you get a taste.

    Whatever dude, "there's an idiot born every minute" is just a saying, more like just something I threw in there for effect, not something to be taken literally. My point is calling other posters names when you disagree with their opinion is hardly productive or appropriate. Please try to respect your fellow posters even if you disagree with what they said is all I'm saying.
    Which came first,
    the bad idea or me befallen by it?
  • decides2dreamdecides2dream Posts: 14,977
    VictoryGin wrote:
    It could be the woman's grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, other trusted adult, etc. It could also be a social worker.

    I wouldn't call this person a 'child' either. She clearly gets her period. She may be a minor in regards to the law, but she's not a child.

    agreed.
    even as a legal minor, she should be afforded the right to choice in this, even if her parents would disapprove/say no. however, i simply think the government should not be regulating this at all.

    VictoryGin wrote:
    I can see that working really well when it's the dad who knocked her up. Or the parent who will 'get mad' and beat her.

    In my experience, most minors bring parents. The ones who don't, have a very good reason.

    exactly.
    Stay with me...
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  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    BUSH-lager wrote:
    LOL

    Why am I not surprised?

    Like I said, if it works to rationalize sweeping generalizations, and to state as fact things that any rational, unbiased person knows not to always be true, then fine. Go for it.

    But don't expect people not to call you on it.

    - Dan

    I was speaking from experience with actual women who have been through this. Which "facts" are you using?
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    MCG wrote:
    Whatever dude, "there's an idiot born every minute" is just a saying, more like just something I threw in there for effect, not something to be taken literally. My point is calling other posters names when you disagree with their opinion is hardly productive or appropriate. Please try to respect your fellow posters even if you disagree with what they said is all I'm saying.

    Oh I wasn't calling you a name. It was just something I threw in for effect.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • sourdoughsourdough Posts: 579
    The scary thing is that girls are getting their period earlier and earlier. At what point do they stop being children? Does their period mark that end? There are more and more frequent instances of girls getting their period at 8 years old.
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