Against Abortion Parental Consent Laws and "Teen Endangerment Act"
- by: Taryn Sauthoff, Rutger's University Women's Studies 101 Class, Action Projec
- recipient: George Bush, President
We, the students in a womens studies class in Rutgers University, urge you to take a stand against the abortion Parental Consent laws that are present in numerous states. Currently, the states Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming,
Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South, Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and W. Virginia have these laws. Also we urge you to go against a bill the Child Custody Protection Act which pro-choice forces call the Teen Endangerment Act (HR 470) (S. 661, CCPA). This law would make it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent- including a grandmother, aunt or older sister- to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, unless the young woman has already met the obligations of her states parental involvement law.
President Bush,
We, the students in a womens studies class in Rutgers University, urge you to take a stand against the abortion Parental Consent laws that are present in numerous states. Currently, the states Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming,
Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South, Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and W. Virginia have these laws. Also we urge you to go against a bill the Child Custody Protection Act which pro-choice forces call the Teen Endangerment Act (HR 470) (S. 661, CCPA). This law would make it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent- including a grandmother, aunt or older sister- to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, unless the young woman has already met the obligations of her states parental involvement law.
Based on a national survey of more then 1,500 unmarried minors having abortions in states without parental involvement laws, 61% of minors will inform their guardian before they obtain an abortion. The younger the teen, the more likely she was to have voluntarily discussed the abortion with her parent. In fact, 90% of minors under 15 involved a parent in their decision to have an abortion. A majority of teens who did not talk to a parent turned to another trusted adult, (Stanley K. Henshaw and Kathryn Kost, "Parental Involvement In Minors' Abortion Decisions," 24 Family Planning Perspectives 196, 200 (1992). This proves that minors will alert their parents in making an abortion decision. Parental consent laws are therefore inconclusive and unnecessary. If the Teen Endangerment Act goes into effect, the majority of teens who did not talk to a parent and turned to another trusted adult wouldnt be granted an abortion. The Teen Endangerment Act as well as the Parental notification laws are yet another ploy for anti-abortion activists to eliminate abortions throughout the United States.
Parental consent laws seem like an intelligent notion. However, healthy communication within families can not be mandated. Parental consent laws are only useful when healthy family communication exists. In many dysfunctional households, a minor may feel threatened to inform her parents due to a fear they will kick her out of their home, or even abuse her. There is no possible way a minor can inform her guardians about her pregnancy if it was her father impregnated her.
The 1973 famous abortion case, Roe vs. Wade, ruled that women have a constitutional right to make medical decisions about their bodies, including the decision to have an abortion. This law does not include that it only applies to women over 18. It is a females right to obtain an abortion, and should not be discriminated upon age. Parental consent restrictions place roadblocks in teen womens paths which ultimately restrict their ability to gather information, consider options, and receive medical care, whether it is prenatal care, or abortion care. Instead of ensuring safety, prenatal consent laws create a pre-Roe vs. Wade environment placing our teens in a state of fear, lack of resources, and ultimately at risk.
The Teen Endangerment Act has been rejected by the Congress three times in the last four years. Instead of helping young women deal with the difficult circumstances of an unintended pregnancy, this bill would deny already vulnerable minors the assistance of trusted adults, endangering their health and violate their constitutional rights. If a minor can not consult their guardians about abortion, they can not turn to another trusted adult.
If you do not want to agree with our plea, please take in consideration that the following groups also unanimously agree that the Parental Consent Laws should not be placed into affect: The American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Womens Association. These groups believe, While we applaud the efforts [of Congress] to ensure that parents are involved in [a] minors health care decisions, forced parental involvement, in our view will have unintended consequences of discouraged adolescents from seeking important health care services.
Thank you for listening to our plea of changing these laws.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionWe, the students in a womens studies class in Rutgers University, urge you to take a stand against the abortion Parental Consent laws that are present in numerous states. Currently, the states Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming,
Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South, Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and W. Virginia have these laws. Also we urge you to go against a bill the Child Custody Protection Act which pro-choice forces call the Teen Endangerment Act (HR 470) (S. 661, CCPA). This law would make it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent- including a grandmother, aunt or older sister- to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, unless the young woman has already met the obligations of her states parental involvement law.
Based on a national survey of more then 1,500 unmarried minors having abortions in states without parental involvement laws, 61% of minors will inform their guardian before they obtain an abortion. The younger the teen, the more likely she was to have voluntarily discussed the abortion with her parent. In fact, 90% of minors under 15 involved a parent in their decision to have an abortion. A majority of teens who did not talk to a parent turned to another trusted adult, (Stanley K. Henshaw and Kathryn Kost, "Parental Involvement In Minors' Abortion Decisions," 24 Family Planning Perspectives 196, 200 (1992). This proves that minors will alert their parents in making an abortion decision. Parental consent laws are therefore inconclusive and unnecessary. If the Teen Endangerment Act goes into effect, the majority of teens who did not talk to a parent and turned to another trusted adult wouldnt be granted an abortion. The Teen Endangerment Act as well as the Parental notification laws are yet another ploy for anti-abortion activists to eliminate abortions throughout the United States.
Parental consent laws seem like an intelligent notion. However, healthy communication within families can not be mandated. Parental consent laws are only useful when healthy family communication exists. In many dysfunctional households, a minor may feel threatened to inform her parents due to a fear they will kick her out of their home, or even abuse her. There is no possible way a minor can inform her guardians about her pregnancy if it was her father impregnated her.
The 1973 famous abortion case, Roe vs. Wade, ruled that women have a constitutional right to make medical decisions about their bodies, including the decision to have an abortion. This law does not include that it only applies to women over 18. It is a females right to obtain an abortion, and should not be discriminated upon age. Parental consent restrictions place roadblocks in teen womens paths which ultimately restrict their ability to gather information, consider options, and receive medical care, whether it is prenatal care, or abortion care. Instead of ensuring safety, prenatal consent laws create a pre-Roe vs. Wade environment placing our teens in a state of fear, lack of resources, and ultimately at risk.
The Teen Endangerment Act has been rejected by the Congress three times in the last four years. Instead of helping young women deal with the difficult circumstances of an unintended pregnancy, this bill would deny already vulnerable minors the assistance of trusted adults, endangering their health and violate their constitutional rights. If a minor can not consult their guardians about abortion, they can not turn to another trusted adult.
If you do not want to agree with our plea, please take in consideration that the following groups also unanimously agree that the Parental Consent Laws should not be placed into affect: The American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Womens Association. These groups believe, While we applaud the efforts [of Congress] to ensure that parents are involved in [a] minors health care decisions, forced parental involvement, in our view will have unintended consequences of discouraged adolescents from seeking important health care services.
Thank you for listening to our plea of changing these laws.
See more petitions:
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.