The reality of "parental consent" for abortions

Started by merithyn, October 10, 2013, 08:03:36 AM

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merithyn

October 10, 2013, 08:03:36 AM
It's okay if they can't get parental consent. They can just go before a judge to get it. Or... maybe not so much....

QuoteA Nebraska teenager in foster care was denied access to an abortion, because the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled she wasn't mature enough to make that decision on her own, according to a court opinion published this month.

"It's a very unique case," the young woman's lawyer, Catherine Mahern, told ABCNews.com. "It's OK for her to relinquish her child for adoption. She doesn't need a court to determine the underlying psychological impact or emotional impact of giving up a child, which I think is significant."

The 16-year-old girl, who was not named in the court opinion, was 10 weeks pregnant last May when she first asked a judge for a document that would allow her to obtain an abortion without parental consent. She explained that she wasn't financially ready to have a baby, and that she couldn't "be the right mom that [she] would like to be right now."

That same month, the court terminated her biological parents' parental rights, citing abuse and neglect, and made her a ward of the state, according to the court document. Her father was convicted of third-degree assault after he broke her collarbone and shoulder blade in 2011, and her mother had a drug problem, according to the court document.

She was placed in a foster home sometime in February.

The young woman said she worried that her foster parents would not allow her to have an abortion because of their strong religious beliefs, and would resent her and then tell her biological siblings that she was a "bad person," the document said.

The judge then asked her if she understood that an abortion would kill the fetus, according to the court document. She said she did. He then asked her whether she would "rather do that than to risk problems with the foster care people." Again, she said yes.

But the court concluded that the young woman wasn't mature enough to make the abortion decision on her own because she was financially dependent on her foster parents and had never lived on her own or mentioned any work experience.

As a result judge ruled not to grant the waiver.

Mahern appealed the decision in July, but the appeal was shot down. The state Supreme Court judges released their opinion last week, again concluding that because the 16-year-old was still financially dependent on her foster parents, had not mentioned any work experience and had never lived on her own, she was not mature enough to make the decision to have an abortion.

To get a consent waiver from the court, the young woman had to prove abuse by her actual parents, but since they no longer had any parental rights over her when she asked the court for the waiver, the court wouldn't grant it.

"She is in a legal limbo, a quandary of the legislature's making," Judge William Connolly wrote in a dissenting opinion released last Friday.

Connolly pointed out that the state law conflicted with state policy. The young woman is a ward of the state, living in foster care, and the state's policy is not to give or withhold abortion consent to its wards, leaving the decision up to the woman. State law, however, law states that a pregnant woman younger than 18 needs written consent from a parent or guardian before she can obtain an abortion. A foster parent is separate from a legal guardian, and cannot give consent.

"The waiver doesn't apply to this young lady, because she doesn't have parents," Mahern said. "She's 16 years old. If she went in as a ward of the state and said, 'I want to terminate my pregnancy,' no provider would agree to do that."

Mahern said she couldn't say how the anonymous teenager was doing now or whether she got an abortion, because her client is a minor, but she said the young woman was not an isolated example.
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish he'd go away...

Viking

#1
October 10, 2013, 08:21:48 AM
This girl seems to be perfectly capable of making the choice on termination or not.

More importantly

religion is fucked up, film at 23.
First Maxim - "There are only two amounts, too few and enough."
First Corollary - "You cannot have too many soldiers, only too few supplies."
Second Maxim - "Be willing to exchange a bad idea for a good one."
Second Corollary - "You can only be wrong or agree with me."

A terrorist which starts a slaughter quoting Locke, Burke and Mill has completely missed the point.
The fact remains that the only person or group to applaud the Norway massacre are random Islamists.

derspiess

#2
October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Valmy

#3
October 10, 2013, 08:34:12 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

Which is what she is doing it looks like.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

Berkut

#4
October 10, 2013, 08:34:47 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

I think by the time someone adopted her and got all that through the courts such that they would be her legal guardian, it would be too late to abort.
"If you think this has a happy ending, then you haven't been paying attention."

select * from users where clue > 0
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Ideologue

#5
October 10, 2013, 08:36:49 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

Countertroll: I'm not sure she should be given the opportunity not to have an abortion.
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

derspiess

#6
October 10, 2013, 08:40:46 AM
Quote from: Berkut on October 10, 2013, 08:34:47 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

I think by the time someone adopted her and got all that through the courts such that they would be her legal guardian, it would be too late to abort.

Har.
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Viking

#7
October 10, 2013, 08:42:44 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

Adopting the mother or adopting the baby?
First Maxim - "There are only two amounts, too few and enough."
First Corollary - "You cannot have too many soldiers, only too few supplies."
Second Maxim - "Be willing to exchange a bad idea for a good one."
Second Corollary - "You can only be wrong or agree with me."

A terrorist which starts a slaughter quoting Locke, Burke and Mill has completely missed the point.
The fact remains that the only person or group to applaud the Norway massacre are random Islamists.

Malthus

#8
October 10, 2013, 08:45:20 AM
Quote from: Viking on October 10, 2013, 08:42:44 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

Adopting the mother or adopting the baby?

Evidently, it will be two for the price of one, if you act quickly ...  :hmm:
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

Berkut

#9
October 10, 2013, 08:47:13 AM
Quote from: Malthus on October 10, 2013, 08:45:20 AM
Quote from: Viking on October 10, 2013, 08:42:44 AM
Quote from: derspiess on October 10, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
There's always adoption.

Adopting the mother or adopting the baby?

Evidently, it will be two for the price of one, if you act quickly ...  :hmm:

But not TOO quickly...
"If you think this has a happy ending, then you haven't been paying attention."

select * from users where clue > 0
0 rows returned

Valmy

#10
October 10, 2013, 08:53:03 AM
Quote from: Malthus on October 10, 2013, 08:45:20 AM
Evidently, it will be two for the price of one, if you act quickly ...  :hmm:

See?  You wouldn't have to wait around to see if you are ever going to be able to be a grandparent.  That has to take the pressure off.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

Grey Fox

#11
October 10, 2013, 08:56:34 AM
Is that true in every state? The parental consent for abortions, that is?
Colonel Caliga is Awesome.

Valmy

#12
October 10, 2013, 08:58:23 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on October 10, 2013, 08:56:34 AM
Is that true in every state? The parental consent for abortions, that is?

Nope.  This issue varies a lot from state to state.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

Grey Fox

#13
October 10, 2013, 09:00:45 AM
Never thought Nebraska would be an insane one.

:(
Colonel Caliga is Awesome.

derspiess

#14
October 10, 2013, 09:03:45 AM
:lol:
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall
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