I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Monday, March 06, 2006

The Scarlet 'A' bortion

What's wrong with these South Dakota legislators?
Study after study shows that making abortions illegal won't stop them but better access to daycare, medical health care, affordable housing, education and living wages... will...

When will they start working and stop grandstanding?

And more...
According to a New York Times analysis , laws requiring minors to notify their parents has not produced the results advocates had hoped. For all the passions they generate, laws requiring minors to notify their parents or get permission to have abortions do not appear to have produced a drop in teenage abortion rates.

Providers interviewed in 10 states with parental involvement laws all said that of the minors who came into their clinics, parents were more often the ones pushing for an abortion, even against the wishes of their daughters.

Supporters of the laws say they promote better decision-making and reduce teenage abortions; opponents say they chip away at abortion rights and endanger young lives by exposing them to potentially violent reaction from some parents

Nationwide abortion rates have dropped since the mid-1980s, most precipitously for teenagers. But in three states -- Arizona, Idaho and Tennessee -- the percentage of pregnant minors who had abortions rose slightly after the consent laws went into effect.

Supporters of parental involvement laws say they allow parents to help their children make an important health care decision, as parents would on any other surgical procedure.

My take on this as the parent of several daughters: I would want them to come to me, but,if for whatever reason, they didn't ...Much better a trained medical staff than a dangerous back alley surgery or South Dakota legislators.

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