'Women have the right to decide on abortion' - SA

[dArKeR]

Girls under the age of 18 can legally have abortions without parental consent, the Pretoria High Court ruled on Friday.

The court dismissed the Christian Lawyers' Association's challenge to the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=qw1085750283283B263&set_id=1

[Roaming]

1. This doesn't seem right to me. Any other medical procedure, and

the parent would have to give a signature. My feeling is that until a child is at the age of majority, the parent is responsible for that child, and I think they should be made aware of all medical procedures performed on their daughters, even abortion.

[DrWeird]

2. If they're old enough to get pregnant...

they're old enough to decide what they'll do with their bodies.

A parent shouldn't be able to force their daughter to deliver anymore then they should be able to force their daughter to have an abortion.

[Roaming]

3. I continue to disagree; they may be old enough to get pregnant, but they

are still minors. If my 14-year-old daughter got pregnant, I'd definitely want to know about it. I don't think the state should step in and decide the parent remains in the dark about critical medical care for their child.

[MurrayDelph]

4. Hopefully she would be able to tell you.

My wife and step-daughter were both raped as children by my wife's father (Both of which happened before I knew her).

If she had gotten pregnant from it, what would be the chances that this "good Christian man" would have let her get an abortion?

[Roaming]

7. What an awful story; hope your wife and stepdaughter are healing.

But this is an unusual situation; they probably could have gone to the authorities and reported what happened and had the courts appoint a guardian for them. I'm just talking about the majority situation, which is a girl getting pregnant by her boyfriend. I'm biased, can't help it, because I'm a parent. Such a huge life event should be shared with the parent and not kept secret, especially not by the state.

[DrWeird]

5. So why wouldn't your child tell you?

Because she thinks you'd force her to carry it to term? In that case it would justify not telling you?

[Roaming]

8. I suppose there are myriad reasons a child would not want to tell

her parents; maybe she's ashamed to admit she was having sex, maybe she knows the parents don't like the boyfriend, etc.

I think the reason a child wouldn't want to tell the parent, short of the extreme (and heartbreaking) example above of incest, is irrelevant; the parent should at least be notified of a daughter's medical condition, whether it's pregnancy, venereal disease, cancer, etc., etc.

[reprobate]

10. You're right. There are a myriad of reasons.

Like being beaten or killed by fundy parents. Don't laugh. It happens.

Like being kicked out of the home to care for herself and her 'bastard'.

Like being emotionally abused by parents that have no idea how to 'parent'.

And like many other reasons, most of which involve some kind of abuse.

I am happy that you have a good, talking relationship with your daughter. You need to remember that you may be in the minority. You should recall that parents of teenagers today, for the most part had no instruction in parenting and little knowledge on how to handle teenagers.

As a former LEO I have seen too many of those poor children forced to fend for themselves because their parents refused to be responsible for them anymore. If spoiling your comfort level because the law says your daughter does NOT have to tell you will save just ONE of the lives I've seen ruined, I consider it a worthwhile trade.

[MissMarple]

6. I agree. Parents would have the responsibility for any complications.

I don't think this is a simple matter of "control over one's own body". There are other issues that must be addressed.

[slinkerwink]

9. in that case, would you be against OTC "morning after" pills?

Most women take those because their condoms break or they've been raped. Would you let a sixteen year old girl get a OTC emergency contraception pill because her boyfriend's condom broke? OTC emergency contraception pills prevents pregnancies, and further reduces the risks of abortions.