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Ya know, I'm "Dad" to three daughters. All mercifully (for me) now in their 20's. And I generally support parental notification laws regarding abortion, on the grounds that if a school nurse can't give my kid an aspirin without my consent, why should they be able to perform an abortion without it? But ...

This law was an abomination. The only ones reported under it would be girls (you can't really tell from a physical exam if a guy's been screwing, eh?) and the only purpose was an attempt to shame the sexually active teen into sexual inactivity. However, there's a lot of sex that goes on without actual penetration (which is the only thing a physical exam can discover), and I'm sure that this knowledge was not lost on the teens of Kansas. Unfortunately, disease can still be spread without penetration, but, of course, with the "abstinence only" policies advocated by the same morons that push laws like this, the kids will never know it. Until they get one. At which time they'll be "reported". Would their boyfriend/girlfriend be jailed? Will they be? Maybe we should toss Mom and Dad into the slammer, too, for "permitting" it.

Laws like this ignore human nature entirely, and abrogate the rights of parents by interfering in the most basic of all human institutions: the family. I knew my girls were going to flirt (and worse), and I tried my darnedest to insure that they'd do so safely and responsibly. It didn't entirely work - my youngest got pregnant before she left high school, but actually had the confidence to talk with us about it, and actually made the responsible decision to marry the father and keep the baby. Which resulted in a wonderful grandson for me! And a huge lesson in life and responsibility for her (and him).

If this law had been in place, would she have seen the doctor (on her own) when she suspected pregnancy, knowing she or the father could be jailed for "sexual abuse", and she could lose her baby, not to an "abortion mill" but to a foster home/forced adoption? What lesson would this have taught her?

I have a hard time believing this law ever made it onto the books, but I'm surely thankful to the court for striking it down.

In a victory for an abortion rights group, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that abortion clinic doctors and other professionals are not required under Kansas law to report underage sex between consenting youths.

(link) [CNN.com]

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:00 /Politics | 0 writebacks | permanent link