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Capt. Obvious

(9,002 posts)
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:04 AM May 2014

Maps of Access to Abortion by State

?w=610&h=3752

On Tuesday, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that would extend the waiting period between counseling and abortion from 24 hours to 72 hours. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon must decide whether to sign the legislation. Many other states have passed so-called TRAP laws (targeted regulation of abortion providers) this year, and legislatures have enacted more laws restricting access to abortion in the past three years than from 2000 to 2010.

The maps show where seven such laws (not a comprehensive list) have been enacted. Permanently enjoined means the court cannot enforce the restriction.

538
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Maps of Access to Abortion by State (Original Post) Capt. Obvious May 2014 OP
Thanks for posting this theHandpuppet May 2014 #1
Yes, thank you for posting it davidpdx May 2014 #2
Medically unnecessary ultrasound required before abortion... Triana May 2014 #3
Having to fight battles again, already won many years ago, is beyond scary...sigh. Jefferson23 May 2014 #4
I expected the policies in the bible belt, but What's up with Massachusettes? nt adirondacker May 2014 #5
Looks like The Wizard May 2014 #6
parental consent for a minor should be mandatory in all cases without question. NM_Birder May 2014 #7
Disagree. AtheistCrusader May 2014 #9
minor. parental responsibility. NM_Birder May 2014 #19
Sadly, sometimes one parent IS 'responsible'. AtheistCrusader May 2014 #20
No, I disagree completely. Suppose the minor has been impregnated by a family member? mountain grammy May 2014 #12
minor. parental responsibility. NM_Birder May 2014 #18
and in your world there are no irresponsible parents? mountain grammy May 2014 #22
In my world minors are the responsibility of thier parrents, and yes I am lucky. NM_Birder May 2014 #23
You know not of what you speak PeaceNikki May 2014 #16
key word ....minor. parental resposibility ...it still matters to some. NM_Birder May 2014 #17
whoosh. PeaceNikki May 2014 #21
I heard you the first time, you were wrong then too. NM_Birder May 2014 #24
You didn't read what I pasted or linked. PeaceNikki May 2014 #26
why make minors go to school ? NM_Birder May 2014 #30
Again. PeaceNikki May 2014 #31
You can't pass a law for every single occurrence, but god knows you're trying. NM_Birder May 2014 #35
No, YOU'RE trying. We're talking about abortion access. PeaceNikki May 2014 #36
I would argue that NM_Birder May 2014 #39
You're anti-choice, huh? You ignore the other side of the coin and single out abortion. PeaceNikki May 2014 #40
English major right ? NM_Birder May 2014 #25
And you're a women's reproductive expert? PeaceNikki May 2014 #27
No I'm not, never claimed to be, and surely you are not this shallow. NM_Birder May 2014 #28
Totally irrelevant to conversation. PeaceNikki May 2014 #29
I don't accept letting minors make adult decesions, NM_Birder May 2014 #33
This conversation is about abortion. You keep trying to veer away. PeaceNikki May 2014 #34
This conversation is about 'minors" making adult decesions without consulting the "parent" NM_Birder May 2014 #37
No, it really isn't. You ignore the other side of the coin and single out abortion. PeaceNikki May 2014 #38
these responsible parents weren't there when the minor's pregancy occured j0hnnyvegas Jul 2014 #53
Post removed Post removed Jul 2014 #54
Disagree and I'm the mother of a teenage daughter. xmas74 May 2014 #32
I have a personal story also, but it's from over 50 years ago and abortion was illegal mountain grammy May 2014 #44
Absolutely. xmas74 May 2014 #51
poor thing. PeaceNikki May 2014 #45
Wish I could have done more xmas74 May 2014 #47
The clinics in Chicago get a fair amount of business from young women from Wisconsin PeaceNikki May 2014 #48
Missouri has parental consent but it can be bypassed with a judge. xmas74 May 2014 #52
I guess in your world historylovr May 2014 #42
FUCK NO, you will see girls try to end it themselves JI7 May 2014 #49
Come to the PacNW AtheistCrusader May 2014 #8
Illinois' only restriction is a patient-safety one. ColesCountyDem May 2014 #10
I assume red M&M's and Sweet & Low are still banned in those states PatrynXX May 2014 #11
The real injustice is this only impacts poor women. Women with means go their OB/GYN, mountain grammy May 2014 #13
Access just got worse in Louisiana MountainLaurel May 2014 #14
I saw the term Y'all Qaeda earlier today ProfessorPlum May 2014 #15
Kick historylovr May 2014 #41
Thank you. We have a long way to go. Comrade Grumpy May 2014 #43
We have a long way to go StarryNite May 2014 #46
Two words: Undue. Burden. Constitutional rights delayed are rights denied. ancianita May 2014 #50

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
1. Thanks for posting this
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:10 AM
May 2014

Very informative.

Things are only get worse unless we do our best to defeat GOP and anti-choice candidates.

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
2. Yes, thank you for posting it
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:22 AM
May 2014

It reminds us how much choice has been chipped away at over the years and how close it is getting to the tipping point of going back to pre-Roe V. Wade.

 

Triana

(22,666 posts)
3. Medically unnecessary ultrasound required before abortion...
Thu May 15, 2014, 09:00 AM
May 2014

...

== legislated rape.

== American Taliban.

God I hate these bastards.

The Wizard

(12,541 posts)
6. Looks like
Thu May 15, 2014, 09:43 AM
May 2014

most of those limited government red states like government intervention in the private affairs of a doctor and patient.
Out of the board room and into the bedroom.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
9. Disagree.
Thu May 15, 2014, 10:28 AM
May 2014

In many cases where that sort of thing is going to matter at all, parental notification can be an outright danger to the patient.

mountain grammy

(26,618 posts)
12. No, I disagree completely. Suppose the minor has been impregnated by a family member?
Thu May 15, 2014, 10:51 AM
May 2014

Happens more often than you think. A young woman should never be forced to continue a pregnancy because her parents won't consent... never!

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
16. You know not of what you speak
Thu May 15, 2014, 01:31 PM
May 2014

That's a terrible idea. Do you know how many young women would be forced to parents who are not ready, willing or able to be?

Parent involvement laws cannot conjure love and support for pregnant teens where there's violence in the home; what they do is reduce access to abortion and increase the likelihood of more complicated later-term abortions. As of 2007 61 percent of parents in states without parental involvement laws knew their daughters were having abortions. Of those who did not tell their parents, 30 percent had already been the victims of domestic violence, were afraid that they might be harmed, or feared they'd be thrown out on the street.
Statistics echo those fears: According to NARAL , almost 50 percent of pregnant teens who have been abused before, report being assaulted while pregnant, most often by a family member. What's more, research has shown that domestic violence is often at its height when a member of the family is pregnant.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/18782-parental-notification-laws-obstruct-abortion-access

 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
24. I heard you the first time, you were wrong then too.
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:22 PM
May 2014

If your logic holds, minors should be tried as adults for crimes right ? After all, why consider them minors ? They are fully capable of understanding the decisions they make right ?


PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
26. You didn't read what I pasted or linked.
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:26 PM
May 2014

And thankfully many states do not and will never have parental consent laws because parents don't always know best.

 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
30. why make minors go to school ?
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:38 PM
May 2014


minors need to be allowed to make all kinds of adult decisions right ? with all the "brilliance" the internet is breeding, the world is going to be short of ditch diggers, you might have a point.

Hell I sure "I knew better" when I was a kid,....but thank god my parents DID know better and PARENTED me, until I was old enough to make adult decisions.

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
31. Again.
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:39 PM
May 2014
https://www.aclu.org/reproductive-freedom/laws-restricting-teenagers-access-abortion

Most Teens Voluntarily Involve Their Parents in Their Abortion Decision

A majority of minors who have abortions do so with at least one parent's knowledge. Based on a national survey of more than 1,500 unmarried minors having abortions in states without parental involvement laws, 61% of young women discussed the decision to have an abortion with at least one of their parents. The younger the teen, the more likely she was to have voluntarily discussed the abortion with her parent. In fact, 90% of minors under 15 involved a parent in their decision to have an abortion. A majority of teens who did not talk to a parent turned to another trusted adult. (Stanley K. Henshaw and Kathryn Kost, "Parental Involvement In Minors' Abortion Decisions," 24 Family Planning Perspectives 196, 200 (1992).)

Most Teens Who Do Not Involve a Parent Have Very Good Reasons for Not Doing So

The minority of teens who do not voluntarily consult a parent generally have good reasons not to. Many come from families where such an announcement would only exacerbate an already volatile or dysfunctional family situation. One study showed that 22% of teens who did not tell a parent about their abortion decision feared that, if they told their parents, they would be kicked out of the house. More than 8% feared that they would be physically abused because their parents had beaten them before. Of those who did not tell a parent, 12% did not live with either parent and 14% had parents who abused drugs or alcohol. (Henshaw & Kost.)

Experience shows that teens' fears are well-founded. For example, one of the very first teens who was forced to notify a parent under Colorado's parental notice law was kicked out of her home when her mother learned of the pregnancy. Her mother took the money the teen had saved for the abortion and threatened to disown her if she went through with the procedure. When the teen called the clinic to reschedule her appointment, she was living in a friend's car. Far from strengthening her family and helping her make an informed decision, the law ruined her relationship with her mother and left her homeless with an unwanted pregnancy. Her experience is far from unique.

Governmental Intrusion into Family Relationships Doesn't Create Stronger Families

For teens who feel they cannot safely turn to their parents, government coercion doesn't change anything. There is no evidence that mandating parental involvement actually increases the rate at which teens tell their parents about their pregnancies and planned abortions. (Robert Wm. Blum, et al., "The Impact of a Parental Notification Law on Adolescent Abortion Decision-Making," 77 American Journal of Public Health 619, 620 (1987).) As the New Jersey Supreme Court found when it held that state's parental notice law unconstitutional, a law "cannot transform a household with poor lines of communication into a paradigm of the perfect American family." (Planned Parenthood v. Farmer, 762 A.2d 620, 637 (N.J. 2000).)

Mandating Parental Involvement Jeopardizes Teenagers' Health

Teens already are more likely than older women to have later abortions, and restricting teens' access to abortion only causes further delays. For example, following enactment of Missouri's parental consent law, the proportion of second-trimester abortions among minors increased by 17%. (AGI calculations based on data from Vicky Howell Pierson, "Missouri's Parental Consent Law and Teen Pregnancy Outcomes," 22 Women and Health 47, 53 (1995).) While abortion is safer than childbirth, later abortions entail more medical risks and are more difficult to obtain because they are more expensive and fewer doctors perform them.

In addition, because mandating parental involvement in a teen's abortion decision can prevent teens from getting the abortions they want, it can lead to teens suffering the physical, emotional, educational, economic, and social costs of teenage childbearing.

The Leading Medical Groups Oppose Mandating Parental Involvement

Because these laws put teens' health and safety at risk and do not create better families, all of the major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Public Health Association, oppose laws mandating parental involvement in minors' abortion decisions.

These Laws Unfairly Single Out Those Pregnant Teens Who Choose Abortion

The risks of delayed and denied health care far outweigh the costs of permitting teens to consent on their own to abortion services. Every state in the nation has recognized this fact when it comes to teens who choose to continue their pregnancies and have children. For example, no state requires a young woman to obtain parental consent for prenatal care and delivery services; no state requires parents to be notified of their daughter's positive pregnancy test; all but five states allow a minor to place her child for adoption without parental involvement; and all states allow adolescents to consent to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. It is only if the teen chooses to have an abortion that states seek to require parental involvement. If teenagers can consent on their own to services related to childbirth -- and even to delivery by cesarean section, a far more dangerous procedure than abortion -- there can be no health-related reason for denying them the right to consent on their own to abortion. (Heather Boonstra and Elizabeth Nash, "Minors and the Right to Consent to Health Care" 3 The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy 4, 6-7 (Aug. 2000).)
 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
35. You can't pass a law for every single occurrence, but god knows you're trying.
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:16 PM
May 2014

here's one:
What if a pregnant 16 year old wipes out a crowed of people with a car because she was texting. And lets make it really unlikely, lets say she wasn't allowed to have taken the car because her drivers license didn't allow her to drive without an adult.


She is legal to have an abortion without consulting her parents, do you think it is also correct to say that the injured people need to take the financial ramifications of the incident with the kid ? Or do you think she is under the responsibility of her parents ?


Grab some quick statistics on teenagers disobeying their parents, and the parents having to be held liable for the kids bad decision making. There are either minors under the responsibility of the parent, or there are not, even YOU can't come up with enough laws to cover every possible incident involving minors and bad decision making.

that's why "parenting" makes the "parent" responsible until the "minor" is of the accepted legal age to accept and be held "responsible" for the decisions they make.





PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
36. No, YOU'RE trying. We're talking about abortion access.
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:20 PM
May 2014
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4963565

And I would argue that, in most cases, carrying a child to term is the more irresponsible decision when a minor is impregnated. And she doesn't need parental consent for that, does she?



 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
39. I would argue that
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:27 PM
May 2014

in most cases minors don't understand anything past the next 24 hours. Which is why "minors" are under the responsibility envelope of the "parent".

take care

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
40. You're anti-choice, huh? You ignore the other side of the coin and single out abortion.
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:29 PM
May 2014

No state requires a young woman to obtain parental consent for prenatal care and delivery services.

No state requires parents to be notified of their daughter's positive pregnancy test

All but five states allow a minor to place her child for adoption without parental involvement

All states allow adolescents to consent to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.

It is only if the teen chooses to have an abortion that you seek to require parental involvement.

I would argue that, in most cases, carrying a child to term is the more irresponsible decision when a minor is impregnated. And she doesn't need parental consent for that, does she?

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
27. And you're a women's reproductive expert?
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:28 PM
May 2014

Nope, you're not.

By a longshot.

You should raise YOUR child to discuss such issues with you and she most likely will. Most minors do. The ones that do not seek counsel from their parents avoid that discussion with DAMN good reason. Most likely they would be forced into carrying the child (or forced into terminating), abused, humiliated, or worse.

 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
28. No I'm not, never claimed to be, and surely you are not this shallow.
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:32 PM
May 2014

Asking irrelevant questions and answering them yourself is a pretty weak way to make yourself feel better.

Now, what is your thoughts on holding minors responsible for their actions as if they were adults, in other aspects of life ?

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
29. Totally irrelevant to conversation.
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:35 PM
May 2014

You should raise YOUR child to discuss such issues with you and she most likely will. Most minors do. The ones that do not seek counsel from their parents avoid that discussion with DAMN good reason. Most likely they would be forced into carrying the child (or forced into terminating), abused, humiliated, or worse.

As I stated earlier: As of 2007 61 percent of parents in states without parental involvement laws knew their daughters were having abortions. Of those who did not tell their parents, 30 percent had already been the victims of domestic violence, were afraid that they might be harmed, or feared they'd be thrown out on the street.

Statistics echo those fears: According to NARAL , almost 50 percent of pregnant teens who have been abused before, report being assaulted while pregnant, most often by a family member. What's more, research has shown that domestic violence is often at its height when a member of the family is pregnant.

 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
33. I don't accept letting minors make adult decesions,
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:03 PM
May 2014

unless you are able to accept them taking the adult consequences.

Still can't cough up an answer regarding what other adult responsibility we should hold minors accountable huh ? kids committing crimes are equally able to weigh the consequences of those crimes, "crack em and shack em", off to prison they should go, I like that aspect of your idea.

I kinda like your thinking, I would relish the idea of beating the teenage piece of shit down the street into a paste of wasted pulp. His parents are a couple of our best friends, but the kid and his friends want to be an asshole and as a "minor" there is not much the rest of can do but tolerate it, and he knows it. Allowing minors to be treated as adults,..... I would relish mashing him...... But I won't ....because I'm an adult, and he is too young to understand the full ramifications of his decisions.

When parents, go back to parenting, ...... the number of ignorant decisions made on top of ignorant decisions will slowly recede.

Save the statistics regarding whatever,... kids don't respect the fact that they don't know everything, because adults are doing their best to treat "minors" as adults.

Throw kids in the deep end of the pool, let make adult decisions AND accept the adult consequences, that's your belief, but you haven't thought it all the way through.

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
34. This conversation is about abortion. You keep trying to veer away.
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:10 PM
May 2014

Have you carried a child to term? Delivered a baby? Have you had an abortion? Counseled a teenager who is pregnant? I've done all of the above. Including helping a minor obtain an abortion in a different state to avoid parental notification/consent. In this case, her parents were fundie nutbags who would have forced her to carry and raise the child. They'd already done that with her sister and she couldn't/wouldn't be subjected to it.

Nah, you have no idea.

Here's more data from the ACLU that you won't read:

https://www.aclu.org/reproductive-freedom/laws-restricting-teenagers-access-abortion

Most Teens Voluntarily Involve Their Parents in Their Abortion Decision

A majority of minors who have abortions do so with at least one parent's knowledge. Based on a national survey of more than 1,500 unmarried minors having abortions in states without parental involvement laws, 61% of young women discussed the decision to have an abortion with at least one of their parents. The younger the teen, the more likely she was to have voluntarily discussed the abortion with her parent. In fact, 90% of minors under 15 involved a parent in their decision to have an abortion. A majority of teens who did not talk to a parent turned to another trusted adult. (Stanley K. Henshaw and Kathryn Kost, "Parental Involvement In Minors' Abortion Decisions," 24 Family Planning Perspectives 196, 200 (1992).)

Most Teens Who Do Not Involve a Parent Have Very Good Reasons for Not Doing So

The minority of teens who do not voluntarily consult a parent generally have good reasons not to. Many come from families where such an announcement would only exacerbate an already volatile or dysfunctional family situation. One study showed that 22% of teens who did not tell a parent about their abortion decision feared that, if they told their parents, they would be kicked out of the house. More than 8% feared that they would be physically abused because their parents had beaten them before. Of those who did not tell a parent, 12% did not live with either parent and 14% had parents who abused drugs or alcohol. (Henshaw & Kost.)

Experience shows that teens' fears are well-founded. For example, one of the very first teens who was forced to notify a parent under Colorado's parental notice law was kicked out of her home when her mother learned of the pregnancy. Her mother took the money the teen had saved for the abortion and threatened to disown her if she went through with the procedure. When the teen called the clinic to reschedule her appointment, she was living in a friend's car. Far from strengthening her family and helping her make an informed decision, the law ruined her relationship with her mother and left her homeless with an unwanted pregnancy. Her experience is far from unique.

Governmental Intrusion into Family Relationships Doesn't Create Stronger Families

For teens who feel they cannot safely turn to their parents, government coercion doesn't change anything. There is no evidence that mandating parental involvement actually increases the rate at which teens tell their parents about their pregnancies and planned abortions. (Robert Wm. Blum, et al., "The Impact of a Parental Notification Law on Adolescent Abortion Decision-Making," 77 American Journal of Public Health 619, 620 (1987).) As the New Jersey Supreme Court found when it held that state's parental notice law unconstitutional, a law "cannot transform a household with poor lines of communication into a paradigm of the perfect American family." (Planned Parenthood v. Farmer, 762 A.2d 620, 637 (N.J. 2000).)

Mandating Parental Involvement Jeopardizes Teenagers' Health

Teens already are more likely than older women to have later abortions, and restricting teens' access to abortion only causes further delays. For example, following enactment of Missouri's parental consent law, the proportion of second-trimester abortions among minors increased by 17%. (AGI calculations based on data from Vicky Howell Pierson, "Missouri's Parental Consent Law and Teen Pregnancy Outcomes," 22 Women and Health 47, 53 (1995).) While abortion is safer than childbirth, later abortions entail more medical risks and are more difficult to obtain because they are more expensive and fewer doctors perform them.

In addition, because mandating parental involvement in a teen's abortion decision can prevent teens from getting the abortions they want, it can lead to teens suffering the physical, emotional, educational, economic, and social costs of teenage childbearing.

The Leading Medical Groups Oppose Mandating Parental Involvement

Because these laws put teens' health and safety at risk and do not create better families, all of the major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Public Health Association, oppose laws mandating parental involvement in minors' abortion decisions.

These Laws Unfairly Single Out Those Pregnant Teens Who Choose Abortion

The risks of delayed and denied health care far outweigh the costs of permitting teens to consent on their own to abortion services. Every state in the nation has recognized this fact when it comes to teens who choose to continue their pregnancies and have children. For example, no state requires a young woman to obtain parental consent for prenatal care and delivery services; no state requires parents to be notified of their daughter's positive pregnancy test; all but five states allow a minor to place her child for adoption without parental involvement; and all states allow adolescents to consent to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. It is only if the teen chooses to have an abortion that states seek to require parental involvement. If teenagers can consent on their own to services related to childbirth -- and even to delivery by cesarean section, a far more dangerous procedure than abortion -- there can be no health-related reason for denying them the right to consent on their own to abortion. (Heather Boonstra and Elizabeth Nash, "Minors and the Right to Consent to Health Care" 3 The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy 4, 6-7 (Aug. 2000).)

 

NM_Birder

(1,591 posts)
37. This conversation is about 'minors" making adult decesions without consulting the "parent"
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:22 PM
May 2014

Now it's about me saying have a nice day, and in all honesty,...good luck !

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
38. No, it really isn't. You ignore the other side of the coin and single out abortion.
Fri May 16, 2014, 04:24 PM
May 2014

No state requires a young woman to obtain parental consent for prenatal care and delivery services.

No state requires parents to be notified of their daughter's positive pregnancy test

All but five states allow a minor to place her child for adoption without parental involvement

All states allow adolescents to consent to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.

It is only if the teen chooses to have an abortion that states seek to require parental involvement.

If teenagers can consent on their own to services related to childbirth -- and even to delivery by cesarean section, a far more dangerous procedure than abortion -- there can be no health-related reason for denying them the right to consent on their own to abortion.

j0hnnyvegas

(1 post)
53. these responsible parents weren't there when the minor's pregancy occured
Fri Jul 25, 2014, 10:06 AM
Jul 2014

but now they get to be responsible for the decision that will change the kids life forever. good plan...

Response to j0hnnyvegas (Reply #53)

xmas74

(29,674 posts)
32. Disagree and I'm the mother of a teenage daughter.
Fri May 16, 2014, 03:52 PM
May 2014

What about parents who do not believe in abortion? They'll never sign consent. What about young girls who haven't lived with their parents in a few years? Why should they need consent?

Years ago I befriended a neighbor girl, only fifteen at the time. She would come over to visit whenever I was home. She was a sweet girl and I knew things weren't good at home. A few months later she entrusted me with a secret: her stepfather had been molesting her for years and her mother knew all about it. I called DFS and I called the police but no charges were brought forth. When her mother and stepfather found out I was the one making the report they threatened me with a restraining order. From then on out they kept her locked up in the house and withdrew her from the local high school, stating they were homeschooling her.

Four months later we heard someone knocking on my living room window, When I went to check I found her. She had tried to self abort with a knitting needle. She said she wanted to use a wire coat hanger but her mother threw them all away. Turns out when they withdrew her from school she was already pregnant and they knew it. She begged for an abortion but since they didn't believe in them it wasn't happening. They locked her up because they were worried she'd find an attornery to present her case pro bono in front of a judge for permission to have an abortion without their consent.

If she hadn't needed parental consent she could have had the abortion without them knowing. Instead, the stepfather decided that she would stay home and have his babies.The only good thing to come from this was that she was removed from the situation. She had an infection from her botched abortion and doesn't seem to be able to conceive. (She's in her early 30's, married and settled in a good career. They want a baby.)

There will always be situations like this. Not every parent is looking out for their child's best interest. Demanding consent is denying that young woman the right to make her own medical decisions, even if the decision made by the parent isn't in her best interest.

mountain grammy

(26,618 posts)
44. I have a personal story also, but it's from over 50 years ago and abortion was illegal
Fri May 16, 2014, 07:09 PM
May 2014

for everyone but the well connected or those well off enough to leave the country. So, see, it's never really been illegal for all women, just for many women. The parental consent argument is persistent and would be wonderful in a perfect world of great parents, but we know from experience, it just isn't so.. It's a shallow and senseless argument.

So how do the anti choice, anti abortion people deal with the fact that women with money will always have access to abortion and the laws affect only those without means? Choice is ok as long as you can afford it?
If government is allowed to interfere in women's lives and personal decisions about their own health, there is no end in sight, and, dear anti choicers, when government can force you to continue a pregnancy, they can damn sure force you to end it.

It's not about abortion, it's 100% about control of women.

xmas74

(29,674 posts)
47. Wish I could have done more
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:14 PM
May 2014

but I wasn't much older . I was only 21 and a bit wild. If I had known I could have driven her over the state line. Parental consent wasn't required -just a driver 21 and over .

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
48. The clinics in Chicago get a fair amount of business from young women from Wisconsin
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:20 PM
May 2014

In addition to parental consent, WI requires a 24 hour wait time (2 visits rather than one and an additional fee) and now ultrasounds (an additional fee). We're lucky to have the geographical option that many don't.

People who support these additional restrictions do not understand the reality.

Congress has tried to pass laws to make it illegal to take a minor over state lines to bypass parental consent. Thankfully the bills have died.

xmas74

(29,674 posts)
52. Missouri has parental consent but it can be bypassed with a judge.
Sat May 17, 2014, 12:05 AM
May 2014

What many here on DU don't realize is that it used to be much easier to have it done in Kansas or Illinois. Most of the girls from high school had their procedure done in Kansas-at the time, all that the clinics required was a driver age 21 or over. No ID required and most were registered as Jane Doe. I knew a few who spent the weekend in Illinois, just over the St. Louis border, but it was a longer trip. The girls who went to Illinois went with their parents. In Kansas, most went to Overland Park.

Overland Park had protesters but not awful. I went with a friend once and though I was angry with them it wasn't bad. When I was older I went with a coworker and stayed in Wichita with her. Wichita was bad and I was afraid for both of us. (Her husband stayed home with their children. He didn't think he could handle it, even though they knew how severe the birth defect was.) I noticed in Wichita the protesters didn't give a rat's ass about the women or even think about why they were there. They were frightening but her physician was wonderful, may he rest in peace.

historylovr

(1,557 posts)
42. I guess in your world
Fri May 16, 2014, 05:13 PM
May 2014

minors aren't impregnated by one of their parents, or by another family member? Those kinds of things just never happen? Must be nice.

ColesCountyDem

(6,943 posts)
10. Illinois' only restriction is a patient-safety one.
Thu May 15, 2014, 10:33 AM
May 2014

Because abortion IS an invasive, surgical procedure, and because things CAN go wrong in a small percentage of cases, IL does require that abortion providers meet the same minimum requirements as do free-standing surgical centers.

I don't have a huge problem with this restriction.

PatrynXX

(5,668 posts)
11. I assume red M&M's and Sweet & Low are still banned in those states
Thu May 15, 2014, 10:45 AM
May 2014

Uh breast cancer risk is probably higher because they are closer to that oil fume crap

mountain grammy

(26,618 posts)
13. The real injustice is this only impacts poor women. Women with means go their OB/GYN,
Thu May 15, 2014, 10:55 AM
May 2014

have a D & C, or go to another state. Abortion laws are made by men who will never, ever have to carry an unwanted pregnancy, and women of means who always have other options.

Government intrusion into the lives of poor women. They don't give a damn bit about the woman or child.

MountainLaurel

(10,271 posts)
14. Access just got worse in Louisiana
Thu May 15, 2014, 11:21 AM
May 2014

Yesterday, the state Senate passed a TRAP law that will close 3 out of 5 clinics in the state. The nearest clinic to New Orleans will be 4 hours away. Jindal has already said he'll sign the law.

ProfessorPlum

(11,256 posts)
15. I saw the term Y'all Qaeda earlier today
Thu May 15, 2014, 01:22 PM
May 2014

and I think it applies very well to the legislators in these states.

ancianita

(36,023 posts)
50. Two words: Undue. Burden. Constitutional rights delayed are rights denied.
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:30 PM
May 2014

I've gone through this "counseling" bullshit, and it didn't affect my decision one bit, but I hated the people who presumed the power to make me endure it.

This is legalized misogyny. Designed to remind women that someone thinks they are badbadbad for deciding what goes into and comes out of their bodies. They have prior rights of life and all the free will that goes with it, as a Catholic priest once told me.

I'm interested to know why you opened up this thread with all these visuals.

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