curling said:
I am going to shoot your point down in flames sorry danielson. You know I bet some 18 year olds could drink responsibly yet they are not allowed to even though they are old enough to fight for our country. Some 16 year olds are probably more competent voters than 18 yet they are not allowed to vote.
And back to your competent 15 year old that is smart enough to know everything about risks of abortion yet she is incompetent enough to get pregnant in the first place? She don't sound to competent to me dude.
Parents generally care more about their kids than anyone else in this world why wouldn't you want their imput on such a life killing/changing action.?
you are right in that she obviously wasnt too smart to get pregnant in the first place, or at least extremely unlucky
but I am also drawing a distinction between the two. Given the stigma and incredibly personal feelings associated with pregnancy, if a 15yr old exhibits medical competence (i.e. can understand the outcomes and feelings associated with an abortion) I feel she can have it. She may have been too immature to realise that the only reason a 19yr old is going out with her is for easy sex and he's too lame to get someone his own age, but that is entirely separate to the competence to allow an abortion
To give an non abortion example, lets say a 14yr old jehovah's witness goes hunting with his friends without an orange hunting jacket, as they dont sell them to under 16's. He's never hunted before (judged too immature previously)
during the hunting trip he gets nicked in the arm and looses some blood. At the hospital, they find that while he is not going to die within 24hrs (bleeding gets controlled) he is in need of a blood transfusion. His parents refuse consent, on the grounds that they are jehovah's witnesses and do not believe in transfusions, and as his legal guardians have the right to refuse consent to him
He then says to you privately that he wants a transfusion, and is not only entriely competent but is insistant that he wants one irrespective of whatever his parents views are, and that they can be told after the event (so they dont try to stop him). If he were 18 they wouldnt even be asked
Would you deny him that transfusion, knowing that even though he is more than likely to live he will be miserable for a while as his body struggles to make new blood? he should not have been hunting at his age but it doesnt change the fact that he wants a transfusion, and his parents dont. Ultimately its his body and his choice, and its the same for a 14yr old wanting an abortion, as long as they are mentally and psychologically competent to make that descision.
In my mind this is the deciding factor in whether someone is allowed to have an abortion without parental consent. It isnt a one stop shop, they are sent to councilling and enxouraged not to rush the descision