Minors and Abortion: Parental Consent Must be Mandatory

7 of these states have laws that effectively require the woman make two separate trips to the clinic to obtain the procedure. Parents should be involved in such a decision like this so 36 states require some type of parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion. 22 states require one or both parents to consent to the procedure, while 12 require that one or both parents be notified and 4 states require both parental consent and notification. Many people believe that restrictive abortion laws may worsen family communication rather than promote it. Abortion providers encourage teenagers to tell a parent or another important family member about their plans, and most teens do. Even without state laws, one or both parents of 61% of minors know about their daughters' abortions. The younger the teen, the higher the likelihood that she has told her mother about the situation. Those young women who do not or cannot tell their parents, however, often have important reasons such as a family history of alcoholism, emotional or physical abuse, or incest. To involve such parents could invite further abuse of the teenager and other family members. Rather than tell their parents - for whatever reason - some teenagers resort to unsafe, illegal abortions or try to perform the abortion themselves. In doing so, they risk serious injury and death or, in some cases, criminal charges. Another concern is that restrictive laws endanger teens' health by

Nearly 81% of women who receive abortions experience subsequent mental health problems according to a recently published study by The Royal College of Psychiatrists. The study demonstrates that the aftermath of an abortion can result in higher rates of anxiety, depression, various forms of substance abuse, and suicidal behavior. As a result of the study, it shows that women who have an abortion face almost double the risk of mental health problems as women who have their baby. This outcome is due to the fact that most women who are terminating pregnancies “may feel a greater sense of loss, anxiety and distress due to lack of support”, as summarized in the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit reproductive health organization. In fact, a five-year study shows that 25% of

Most minors voluntarily involve their parents in abortion cases and if they don’t involve their parents, it's usually because they wouldn't be cooperative; “Since "privacy" rights have been found to be fundamental and protected by the due process clause, it is plausible that these rights are also fundamental for purposes of equal protection clause analysis” (Wand). The Court has stated that minors are protected by the right to privacy, so minors should have the right as to whether or not to terminate her own pregnancy. In addition, government intrusion does not make family relations stronger and could just sway a woman’s decision. The Court supported this in 1976 during the case Planned Parenthood v. Danforth. In this case, Missouri legislators passed a law requiring abortion doctors to obtain a written statement of the mother’s consent that stated that “the consent was freely given and not the result of coercion” (“Planned Parenthood v. Danforth”). The Court upheld the written consent of women, however, it concluded that spousal and parental consent requirements amounted to an unconstitutional "veto power" over a decision which should be left to the "medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician" according to Roe (“Planned Parenthood v. Danforth”).

After a woman has an abortion, the chances are three to four times higher of the mother having a miscarriage because of damage to the uterus. There is a higher chance of the mother dying from having an abortion than there is from her dying from natural childbirth. Even though after an abortion the mother feels relief that the ordeal is over, feelings of “numbness” soon set in on their emotions. It’s not any different from what soldiers feel after being in the midst of war. It has been found in a study of 500 aborted women, 50 percent of them were dealing with negative feelings and 10 percent had “serious psychiatric complications.”

Sharon Salzberg once said, “As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them”. The wake of devastation abortion leaves behind could not be described better. It is argued that it is the woman’s body; therefore it is the woman’s choice. What many do not know, however, is that abortion not only affects the mother, but the father, and of course the child. Guilt, anger, anxiety, depression, broken relationships, “numbing”, and even suicide; all of these are symptoms of Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). PAS is the emotional/psychological damage women may experience after having an abortion. According to Dangers of Legal Abortion by Ann Saltenberger, women who have had abortions are nine times more likely to attempt suicide than women in the general population. Men, or the father, portray a range of emotions after their partner’s abortion. These include grief, guilt,

It is difficult to think about all the different emotions a mother must feel after losing her baby; no matter how it happens. The abortion may have been something the mother wanted or she may have been pressured into it by others around her. No matter what the reason is, it is hard for a mother to lose something that was a part of her for nine months. She feels many different emotions due to the major hormone changes she goes through. These emotions can range from average feelings to feelings that are dangerous to the point where the mother needs professional help. According to the American pregnancy association (2007), abortion causes many side effects such as; regret, anger, guilt, shame, loneliness or isolation, impaired self confidence, insomnia or nightmares, relationship issues, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, depressions and anxiety (para. 3). Many mothers go through a regret period, which is

Minors and young women are the one who choose abortions most often. Many have lifelong regrets after an abortion..

The second article “Parental Consent Laws are Unnecessary” by Diana Philip, takes an almost completely opposite standpoint. Philip believes that “laws requiring parental involvement in a minor's decision to have an abortion are detrimental to the welfare of those young women (Philip). Parents may be looking for a way to reprimand their daughter’s actions instead of “supporting or protecting them” (Philip). “Some parents physically abused, abandoned, or disowned their daughters when they found out they were pregnant” (Philip). The decision to keep or eliminate the fetus should be left to the minor. By insisting that a minor must/must not have the procedure done, young women are actually forced to have the same view on abortion as their

Since abortions legalization in 1973, it has become a topic ensnared by controversies as groups debate abortions moral and ethical consequences. Most often the controversy over abortion comes down to a person’s moral stand point on the subject, however, most people are not apprised of the possible long and short term psychological effects of receiving an abortion. Multiple studies preformed over the years have endeavored to determine the extent abortion has on women’s mental health with vastly varying results. Articles written by Coleman and Fergusson surmise women who undergo an abortion operation are highly prone to experience some variety of psychological harm. Other researchers like the American Psychological Association (APA) task force

Finally, the most crucial reason to why parental consent laws for abortion should be legal is the potential medical dangerous that can occur before and after an abortion (Earll). Parents that are aware of their children desire to have an abortion and support their children’s decisions can provide “important medical history to a physician” (Christian Med.). “A minor may not be fully conscious of a family history that makes surgical or medical abortion

Abortion causes mental pain in women. After abortion, women experience lots of mental pain. They can also have life long regrets. In some studies, they find that Women who “ride out” an abortion deal not only with physical pain and mental pain, but also with regret. “Those who choose abortions are often minors or young women with insufficient life experience to understand fully what they are doing. Many have lifelong regrets afterward”(“20 Key Arguments From Both Sides of the

In Bellotti v. Baird, the Court came to decide that individuals under the age of 18 cannot have an abortion without parental approval. Our readings have pointed out that parents are primarily responsible for the development of children whose care are under them. As full maturity has not been reached, legal restrictions for minors, in addition to protections given to parents,

Many women choosing to have an abortion are unaware of the psychological effects it will have on them. Many are affected for years or maybe even lifetime after the procedure. Abortion can affect each woman differently, some claim that abortion has negative effects on women’s mental health. Women have abortions for different reasons within different personal, social, economic, and cultural contexts. All of these may lead to variability in women’s psychological reactions following the abortion. This paper will focus on answering the following questions:

I agree with Jacobs, W.E. and Nancy Spargue in article points of view: abortion and minors isn't just painful but it could be dangerous for them. They should have a parent with them to not only get out of the clinic. But to make sure she does good afterwards at home and so she could heal good. Some girls end up getting pregnant after sexual inter corse and they don’t want their parents finding out so they choose to abort. The parents of these

Abortion is a major controversy amongst teenagers; it is a huge issue in the society today. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy due to certain conditions. It can happen automatically due to a person’s health, but most of the time it is done intentionally, through medical or surgical procedures. Some teenagers want to have an abortion because they didn’t use proper protection while engaging in sexual intercourse and they are not ready to be parents, while others are forced to have an abortion due to lack of support from others, incest, rape, or health issues. That’s why they count for 30% of all abortions. Only nine countries legalize abortion in this world, including Canada after twenty weeks of pregnancy. In many other countries it is strictly prohibited, and can lead to severe consequences such as the death penalty for the murder of another human. It is taking the life of an innocent child, and demolishing their entire future, because of the decision the mother chose to take. By having an abortion as an adolescent, one suffers psychological emotional remorse, health risks, and having an abortion is morally wrong. I am against abortion because it is taking the right of another human, and is sometimes done for selfish reasons.