Tag Archives: parental consent

Massachusetts Considers Easing Parental Consent Rules On Abortion

Mary OdellJune 7, 2013 //
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The Massachusetts Legislature’s Public Health Committee is considering a new bill to ease parental consent rules for abortion. According to Planned Parenthood League Of Massachusetts, young women in Massachusetts under age 18 need to acquire written permission from a parent or guardian to obtain an abortion; if she’s unable to discuss this sensitive subject with a parent, she can get permission from a judge. But this new bill would allow young women to get permission from a doctor, nurse, or family member over age 25 instead of the court.

Additionally, a Democratic state rep in MA filed another bill including these same provisions, but would also lower the current age of consent  to 16.

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North Carolina Pols Actually Thought Requiring Parental Consent For STD Testing Was A Good Idea

Jessica WakemanMay 9, 2013 //
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Thank God somebody in North Carolina’s state legislature has some sense: the Health and Human Services Committee has pulled a bill that would require teens get parental consent for STD testing and treatment, as well as other healthcare. The Republican-controlled committee had advanced the bill on Tuesday, to an explosion of WTF ARE YOU SERIOUS?!? on the Internet.

The bill would have required teens to get notarized parental consent for STD testing and treatment, pregnancy care, mental health counseling, or substance abuse treatment. Anyone with half a brain would know that teenagers don’t want to talk with dear old Mommy and Daddy about weird stuff going on in their genitals, their cutting problem, or their dependency on popping pills. But North Carolina Republicans? Apparently they don’t understand basic human psychology. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: “16 & Pregnant” Teen Deterred By Parental Consent Law

Jessica WakemanMay 18, 2011 //
  • On last night’s episode of “16 & Pregnant” on MTV, a pregnant teen talked with her mother about how she was deterred by Mississippi’s parental consent law for abortion. It’s confusing why Cleondra and the baby’s father didn’t end up getting the abortion, since Cleondra’s mother says in the clip (watch it on Jezebel) she was 100 percent supportive of her daughter getting one. Maybe they were afraid the baby’s father’s parents would be more angry about getting permission for an abortion than becoming a teen parent? It’s my understanding that only the parent or guardian of the female minor needs to have consent? In any case, it just goes to show how creating barriers for abortion contributes to teen pregnancy. [Jezebel]
  • Speaking of parental consent/notification laws, Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) introduced a bill on Monday that would require all parents of minors seeking an abortion to be notified by mail about it. Sen. Boozman claims a federal parental notification law would protect young women from being abused by sexual predators who may take them to another state to have an abortion if their state has a parental consent/notification law. [Ms. Magazine]
  • Maya Moore, 22, a UCONN basketball player and number one WNBC draft pick, has been the first woman signed to Nike’s Jordan Brand, joining the likes of Derek Jeter and Carmelo Anthony. Congratulations! [The Grio]

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13-Year-Old Pennsylvania Girl Gives Herself An Abortion

Jessica WakemanJune 9, 2010 //

A 13-year-old in Pennsylvania was hospitalized this weekend after giving herself a “home abortion” with a pencil last Wednesday. Police say the girl, whose identity is being kept secret due to her age, became violently ill for three days, had contractions and allegedly delivered a stillborn before she received medical care. Keep reading »

Here Comes The Underage Bride

Catherine StrawnApril 3, 2008 //

Las year, Arkansas accidentally passed a law making it legal for anyone — even newborns — to marry as long as they had parental consent. The bill was supposed to have made 18 the legal age for marriage, but there was an extra “not” in the bill — oops! Lawmakers decided their error would make it easy for pedophiles to take advantage of the law, and repealed it this week, reinstating 17 as the legal age for men and 16 for women. While the whole “marriage-with-parental-consent” thing is bizarre, the fact that men and women can’t get married at the same age is truly strange. That, and laws making it legal for kids in Missouri and Hawaii to get hitched before they have their driver’s license. I guess they’d have a limo anyway. [USA Today] Keep reading »