Young Women's Abortion Rights
Responsible parents should be involved when their young daughters face an unintended pregnancy. Indeed, every parent hopes that a child confronting an unintended pregnancy will seek the advice and counsel of those who care for her most and know her best. And even in the absence of laws mandating parental involvement, many young women do turn to their parents when they are considering an abortion. Yet, some young women cannot involve their parents because they come from homes where physical violence or emotional abuse are prevalent or because their pregnancies are the result of incest. Put simply, the government cannot mandate healthy family communication where it does not already exist and there is no law that can account for every situation that a young woman in crisis may face. Parental Consent Laws But unfortunately, young women are becoming an increasingly inviting target for restrictive anti-choice legislation. In Wisconsin, parental consent (in which the attending physician secures "voluntary and informed" consent of one parent or adult family member) is required for abortion, except if the young woman is a victims of rape, incest or child abuse and in rare cases where a minor may obtain judicial bypass, a lengthy and complicated process. Should pregnant teens have to navigate complex legal codes while they are under duress and facing a potentially health-threatening situation? Clearly, the decision should be made between a young woman and her doctor, not by a judge in a court. Moreover, the longer young women wait to have an abortion, the greater the likelihood it will threaten her health and future fertility. By placing this harsh restriction on teens, Wisconsin’s lawmakers have burdened vulnerable young women with unacceptable risks. Child Custody Protection Act In Congress, anti-choice lawmakers are seeking to restrict minors’ access to reproductive health care services with legislation like the Child Custody Protection Act. This dangerous bill would make it a crime for anyone other than a woman's parents, including a grandparent, aunt, or older sibling, to take her across state lines for an abortion if doing so would violate her home state's parental involvement requirements. Even the confidentiality of minors' medical records and the services minors receive have been the target of anti-choice attempts to restrict reproductive freedom. Minors do not vote. They have virtually no political power. Consequently, they represent a safe target for anti-choice lawmakers bent on restricting reproductive freedom for all American women. And too often it is the minor who pays the price.
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