Abortion - Taking Away Parents' Rights to Choose How to Parent Their Children

Abortion is first of all a human rights violation. However, the pro-abortion agenda also includes a concerted effort to restrict how parents are allowed to parent their children.

I was thinking about the things that our children cannot do without written parental permission, even though our daughters can get an abortion without our permission. In Ohio, the law requires that one parent be notified of the intended abortion, unless the minor gets approval from a judge (through "judicial bypass"). Judges could approve the abortion without the consent of a parent if the judge deems that a) the minor is mature enough to make the decision on her own, b) the minor has been the victim by one of the parents of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or c) it is not in the best interests of the minor to notify the parents. See the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Ohio v. Akron Center. Even with the parental notification, a parent only needs to be notified; a parent's consent is not required. Not surprisingly, Planned Parenthood referred to even this inadequate accommodation of parental rights as one of "two major blows against abortion rights." The extremism of Planned Parenthood's position is clear in this statement.

According to a Lifenews.com article in 2003, the Akron Beacon Journal conducted a study which showed that Ohio judges approved judicial bypass requests 86% of the time.
It is worth considering what minors can and cannot do without parental permission:

• Written permission from a parent is required for a minor to go on a field trip, but a minor girl can kill her unborn child without parental consent.
• In Ohio, parental consent is required for a minor to marry, but a minor girl can kill her unborn child without parental consent.
• Written parental consent is required for a minor to enlist in the military, but a minor girl can kill her unborn child without parental consent.
• In Ohio, parental consent is required for a minor to get a tattoo, body piercing, or ear piercing, but a minor girl can kill her unborn child without parental consent.
  

Parents need to be parents, especially when their daughters are in a confusing, complicated, and frightening situation like an unexpected teen pregnancy. But apparently we need the consent of the government for us to exercise what is clearly a fundamental human right.