Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article today that relates the story of a Seattle, Washington, high school student who was given an abortion without her parents' knowledge. The story was originally reported by KOMO News in Seattle.
The mother of the teenager (the mother is pro-choice) signed a consent form for her daughter to visit the Ballard Teen Health Center located within the high school. She figured her daughter could go there for a sore throat, an earache, etc. She did not realize it meant her daughter could go there for an abortion without her knowing it.
Just as a side note, I really don't like the idea of a "Teen Health Center" located within a high school. It seems to me that even in high school, a student should not be responsible for their medical services without the input of his/her parents. The convenience is nice, but without parental input, this is a bad idea. It almost seems as if the location of the health center is putting a wall between the parent and the child.
Anyway, back to the story. According to KOMO:
"Jill (the child's mother) says her daughter, a pro-life advocate, was given a pass, put in a taxi and sent off to have an abortion during school hours all without her family knowing."
I happen to be pro-life. I also happen to be the mother of three daughters. Although I would oppose any one of my daughters seeking an abortion, if she had an abortion, I would want to be there for her. To take the parents out of the picture at that point is unfair to the parents and to the child (I realize that in certain cases there are extenuating circumstances, but that was clearly not the case here).
There is a related story at Hot Air written by Ed Morrissey in May 2008. It deals with the events that followed the unintended pregnancy of his son's girfriend during their senior year of high school. The story also shows that we need to pay attention to some of the underlying messages given to our children as they attend high school.
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