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I was about to go somewhat offtopic about this in another thread, so I figured I would make a new one just about this.

I'm not a big fan of parental consent laws, because there are cases where a underage pregnant female's life might be in danger if she were to inform her parents (cases where teens have been harmed or killed because of consent laws). However, I don't see any problem with there being a law with an exception for cases where the parents are abusive.

There is a map, somewhere, of states in the US who have consent laws, and shows if the laws are actually enforced or not. I can't find it, but I'll keep looking and post it here when I do find it.

I think parent should have to consent. Because what if something goes wrong?

In the case of the parents being abusive. I'm not sure confused .

They do not become emanipated when they are pregnant however, if a teen WAS to be emanipated when/if they got pregnant than there would be no need for parental consent laws. However such is not the case and so if the parents are still responsible for the child and the child still needs consent for every single other medical procedure than it shouldn't matter if the child is going to be emanipated in the near future, or could be.

Just because a teen is going to be 18 in 6 months doesn't mean they should be treated as an 18 year old legally, otherwise there's no point in having ages for such things.

In the case of the father of the child being the father of the person you'll find more often that that person pushes for an abortion, moreso than forcing the child to go through with the pregnancy. If the daughter has the child the father is more likely to be found out, whereas if he acts like a concerned father taking his daughter who is far too young to have a child, to have an abortion, it's not going to raise as many eyebrows.

I'm entiely for parental conscent laws. Not just because a parent has a right to know what their minor is doing at all hours of the day, all days of the week, all weeks of the month, and all months of the year. But, also for consistence. You can't even go in to get your eyes looked at by an optomitirst with out parental conscent unless you're over 18 years of age.

I'm also aginast any exception. If she goes to some one and says her parents will kill her if they find out (or beat her, or what have you) the least you need to do is help her in an abortion, what you need to do is get the parents and take her some where safe.

If she's gogin to do it any ways make it legal? Making things legal will never make them better. She's a minor. One: she shouldn't be having sex anyways, dosn't matter if she feels "ready" or "responcible" Two: if she had sex and planned not to get pregnant, and then did get pregnant, she wasn't being very respponcible in the first place (most teen abortions are listed as happening when contraception failed. More likely, the contraception didn't fail because they never used any, or is failed because they wernt using it right. In other words, they wernt being responcible). Three: if she dosn't feel its somthing she can talk to her parents about, the most respncible thing to do is to not do it at all. A rebellious attitude or a defient one when your parents knwo what is responcible and good will always lead to danger. Four, she's a minor. As I said, parents havea right to know what their child is doing at any time of the day. You cant say they have a right not to let her drink, do drugs, go to an r-rated movie, hang out with certain friends, drive a certain car (or at all) (not saying you have said any of this) and then say they have no right to say she can't go into a procedure that is not 100% safe. Its two-faced, and inconsitent.

If her parents are abusive, and she says as such, it shoudl be taken seriously. Instead of giving her a procidure that could cause dir complications later in life, and then sending her back to these dangerous parents, she needs to be taken into custidy and her parents detaine dand investigated. An abortion will not help a child with abusive parents/

I'm also tired of hearing "safe" tied with abortion. Its a form of invasive surgery into a very sensative area of the body. It dosn't matter how its down, there is nothing safe about any form of surgery. The only time you can call it safe is if there is a 100% chance you will suffer no complications.

However, making a form of surgery illegal only serves to make it unsafe.



It is actually perfectly legal to have sex after the age of sixteen and even fourteen in some places, though you are still considered a minor until you are eighteen. Technically I'm still a minor, but I am in a loving relationship with my boyfriend which sex is a natural part of. Should I still not be having sex?



I have sex. I don't plan to get pregnant. I am using my contraceptives perfectly. However, they still have a failure rate, and when the failure rate is applied to the population, no matter how low it seems to one person it is fairly high in total. You have no evidence that the teens who get abortions weren't using contraceptives or were using them wrong. Therefore you cannot decide on whether or not they were actually being responsible.



I don't feel I can talk to my parents about sex. I wouldn't be comfortable having that conversation knowing that because of how they are, they would probably look down on me for being 'young and inexperienced'. I'm not rebellious, but my parents are rather strict - so naturally I would like to break the boundaries a little bit. But I don't have sex to defy them. I have sex because I want to have sex.



I'm a minor and I still don't see what difference it makes.



Abortion is safer than pregnancy. Do you believe that forcing abortion on your minor child is an inherent wrong? Then forcing pregnancy on them is one also. Parents have the responsibility to raise their child as they see fit - they can let her drink or not drink, that's their choice. However, in the issue where her body is one of the stakes, she should at least have some say in the decision-making process.



No, but a pregnancy won't either. Of course she should be taken into custody and her parents detained but all the social services have is her word. Her parents could have a front. Not to mention that most teens who have tried to get this court order have been denied.



However, legal abortion is ten times safer than pregnancy. If there is no legal abortion, then we go into the realms of extremely unsafe abortion, as opposed to marginally risky. You can accuse the people who go to such lengths of stupidity and selfishness all you like, but at the end of the day, if life is what you're fighting for, you should fight unsafe abortion.

Ah, okay then. It's also a little annoying putting quote tags everywhere. : P I will accede to your request.

I haven't told my mum I'm having sex because she's got some old-fashioned ideas. Last summer she was telling me to wait with my boyfriend of almost a year. :/ But like you, I hope to raise my children comfortable talking to me about anything.

Also, UK law is that once you're sixteen, sex is legal. No ifs, ands or buts. At least, that's the way I understand it. I don't think there's anything prohibiting 18+ from sex with 16+. As long as it's not teacher-student or anything. People in positions of authority.

That is how they do it in parts of the US. My state (Idaho) the age of consent is 16/18. It's 16 if the other person is no more than 5 years older, 18 if the person is more than five years older. At least thats the way the laws end up working out. I like the way that works out. I think 16 is usally old enough to give informed consent unless the other partner is an older adult who is using their maturity to manipulate the teen.