On Parental Consent
It is utterly absurd, in my humble opinion, that a 15 year old girl needs her parent’s consent to buy aspirin, but can get birth control for free and be guaranteed that her parents will not be notified. It is equally absurd that parents are not notified when their under-age daughters request, and receive, abortions.
I understand that some parents may react badly. I understand that there are parents who are just plain bad. But that doesn’t mean that the state should take responsibility for all under-age children in matters of reproduction. These are very personal matters that parents shoud be deeply involved with, not excluded by the state.
The state holds parents responsible for the actions of their children. If my under-age child damages someone else’s property, that person can legaly sue me for compensation, and would likely win. If the state presumes that parents are responsible for the actions of their children, then the state must not subvert that responsibility when it comes to sex and reproduction. You can’t have it both ways. If parents are to be held responsible, then the authority of parents must be presumed. If the state subverts that authority by refusing to notify parents, then the state cannot hold parents responsible for their children’s actions.
Most parents want to be responsible for their children. Most parents find the notion of state interference with their authority to be ahorent. Laws that subvert that authority are often justified in terms of "safety" for the child; but that’s simply nonsense. Yes, there are some situations in which a child might be at risk if their parents are notified. But in the vast majority of cases the notification will do far more good than harm. It is silly, even irresponsible, that the state prioritizes the welfare of the few over the welfare of the many.
Whenever “they” cry out; “It’s for the children. We need to … {fill-in-the-blank}.”; who do you think “they” are talking about?
It is not children…. It is the voting public, the citizen, the adults who are the “children” of whom “they” are speaking….
Comment by RScott — October 20, 2006 @ 12:44 am
It’s not as simple as numbers though is it? The potential good in one case is not comparable to the potential bad in another. If a good parent is told he/she/both can talk it over with their child, but that conversation may not have much affect anyhow. In addition a good parent should be having that conversation about contraception without having to catch their child red handed first.
On the other hand, a bad parent may hurt or otherwise abuse their child. That prospect will scare many children away from contraception (though probably not sex). And it won’t just be the children with bad parents, it will be many of the children with good parents, either because they don’t understand the difference between their friends parents and their own, or their simply avoiding something they find embarassing, awkward, or otherwise uncomfortable.
Comment by Ryan — November 4, 2006 @ 4:30 pm