Roundup: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

Roundup: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

Apr 5, 2010, 9:08am

Robin Marty

What's worse: having parents involved in reproductive health or NOT having parents involved in reproductive health? I guess it depends which state you live in.

Still reacting to the story of the teenager in Seattle who didn’t inform her mother before she received an abortion, columnists are beginning to hit other non-parental consent states in the west coast to rally support for new restrictive laws on teenagers seeking the procedure. California radio personality Alana Burke opines in a column that abortions without parental permission “undermine the family” and must be ended.

In California, legislation to require even parental notification has been repeatedly defeated. The only requirement is that a licensed physician performs the abortion, generally paid for with public funds. It’s 11:30 a.m. on a school day. Do you know where your daughter is?

At one point, Planned Parenthood sold “I had an abortion” T-shirts on its Web page, and in 2008 the Planned Parenthood in Indiana sold “gift certificates” that could, in addition to other services, be used for abortions. What’s next? Buy one, get one free?

The Oregonian’s “just right of center” columnist, Elizabeth Hodve, states that these types of decisions are why people don’t want their children in public schools anymore.

If you ever wonder why some parents — especially non-religious or middle- and lower-income types — choose private school over a fully funded public education, I offer up the story of an old problem made fresh again at Seattle’s Ballard High School.

In late March, news broke that the mother of a 15-year-old student at Ballard was irate after discovering that the school-based health clinic helped her daughter obtain an abortion. The procedure was performed during the school day without the parent’s knowledge. Workers arranged a taxi to take the girl to an abortion provider for the procedure and bring her back to school. The mom found out about the incident some months later and has since gone public with her complaint that she was kept out of the loop when it came to her child’s health care.

The old problem isn’t that schools or health clinics in schools are forcing kids into abortions. While that’s a concern, the old problem we have yet to resolve is that some schools and health providers, bolstered by state law, usurp parents’ rights and responsibilities. Shutting non-abusive parents out when it comes to something as serious as an abortion bothers some families. It should. As should the fact that a Seattle school student was allowed to leave campus without parent permission.

Meanwhile, in Utah, parents who attempted to get involved in reducing teen pregnancy are still reeling from the abuse and misinformation that was launched at them by anti-choice, anti-sex ed advocates. The Utah Parent Teacher Association endorsed a bill that would allow information on contraception to disbursed in classrooms, although teachers would still not be allowed to advocate for or encourage students to use them. The materials, which would be provided in part by the School Board, could then be brought home to parents who may choose to discuss them with their children.

Of course, that is not what anti-choice groups claimed the bill was about. Instead, it would teach sexuality and educate them on homosexuality.

Leaders of several groups, including Utah Eagle Forum, United Families Utah and Standard of Liberty, maintain the information they provided about the bill was accurate. But Liz Zentner, state PTA health commissioner, and bill sponsor Sen. Stephen Urquhart, said some confused the issue with inaccuracies.

“It should not have given the PTA a black eye, but through the erroneous information that went out from some groups, it made us look really bad,” Zentner said.

For example, Standard of Liberty, a Pleasant Grove-based group that aims to raise awareness about “radical sexual movements,” wrote in an e-mail to its 8,000 members that the bill would have required all districts to offer broader sex education, including instruction about homosexuality. In reality, the bill would have kept the current law’s language prohibiting teachers from advocating homosexuality and would not have meant more comprehensive sex education in schools.

Stephen Graham, Standard of Liberty president, said he stands by the statement that the bill could have led to more discussions about homosexuality had students raised questions about the issue.

But Urquhart said such misinformation led to the bill’s demise. It died after the Senate Education Committee refused to let Urquhart present an updated version for hearing.

“If someone is out there saying the bill presented homosexuality, then I think I need to run a bill on reading lessons or honesty,” Urquhart said. “What do you do in a situation like that where someone either can’t understand simple English or is willing to fabricate a story?”

Urquhart’s final version of the bill would have added language to current law clarifying that although teachers are prohibited from advocating contraception, that doesn’t mean they can’t discuss it at all. The bill also would have encouraged parental involvement and made instructional materials on contraception, including those to be prepared by the State Board of Education, available to parents.

It seems the biggest problem with reproductive health in schools is that you’re attacked for getting parents involved, and equally attacked if you don’t.

Mini Roundup – Looks like we may need to rethink the idea of the “Victorian prude.” And this woman appears to have gotten the wrong message from the “fertility rite” side of Easter.

April 2, 2010

Democrats, For Life? – Death + Taxes Magazine

Abortion opponents protest at Aurora clinic – Chicago Daily Herald

Anti-abortion Terrorists and the Absurdity of the Roeder Argument – AlterNet

SD Unified Schools Change Pregnancy Policy – KPBS

Bill would alert prosecutors to teen abortions – Kansas City Star

‘Family planning, access to safe, legal abortion key to maternal, child health’ – The Punch

Row rages in Italy over abortion pill – Independent

Latest News: Abortion Doctor’s Killer Uses Sentencing as Forum – Daily Break News

Pregnancy crisis centers may have to post disclaimers – Austin American-Statesman

Some anti-abortion activists see racial conspiracy – Richmond Times Dispatch

Carly Fiorina outlines her anti-abortion stance – San Francisco Chronicle