Why medical experts say that teens should be allowed to make the abortion decision without telling their parents

I am the mother of three daughters, and if one of them were to get pregnant and be thinking about an abortion, I’d want to know. It’s heartbreaking to me to think about not knowing — and about them going through that alone. But for their own safety and well-being, they should have the right not to tell me. That’s the consensus of several medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the Society for Adolescent Health Medicine, the American Public Health Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. And I agree. Here in the United States, minors have a right to an abortion without parental consent unless otherwise specified by state law, and many states do specify otherwise. The Supreme Court has said it’s okay for the states to do that, as long as there is a way for teens who think that telling their parents is a bad idea to get “judicial bypass,” that is, they can go to court and get permission. But many teens don’t know about judicial bypass, and it’s not always easy to do. The thing is, making it mandatory to tell parents doesn’t improve family communication. What it does is delay appropriate medical care — and increase the number of teen births. Teen births are generally on the decline, which is a good thing. Teen pregnancy makes it less likely that the teen will finish high school. It makes it more likely that the baby will be born early and small, and that the mother will ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Children's Health Parenting Women's Health Source Type: blogs