by Robin Tidwell

Created on: July 20, 2009   Last Updated: August 04, 2009

Absolutely should parental consent be required for a minor child to obtain an abortion, just as with any other medical procedure. A minor is not equipped with either the emotional maturity or enough life experience to make this kind of decision. Would you allow your minor child to undergo an elective amputation without your consent? Or any other surgery? Of course not.

To begin with, a parent should be aware if their child or, rather, their teenager is sexually active. A parent who is surprised by this fact alone is a parent who likely has his head in the sand. At the same time, a parent who is cognizant of the facts surrounding teenage sexual activity will likely prepare his child for the potential repercussions of that activity.

Parents must instruct their children in their own particular moral code; parents must be attentive to their children's lives and choices. The parental role consists of teaching, leading, guiding, and mentoring. A child's responsibility is to listen and to absorb those teachings. A parent must, on occasion, invade his teen's so-called privacy and/or interfere with her activities, for her own good.

Why should a child be allowed to make this very grown-up decision? Because, as in Roe v Wade, a woman was allowed to make choices that affect her own body? Does this give the right to a child? Of course not. A child, just like a woman, has the choice of whether or not to engage in sexual activity in the first place.

A child is a minor who has few rights: the right to life, health, happiness, food, clothing, shelter, and love. A minor child does not have the right to enter a legally binding contract, to choose to work in industries which are mandated as unsafe for children, to own a bank account without an adult signature, even to obtain a driver license without parental consent.

Some would argue that a child who is old enough to have sex is old enough to face the consequences; this is quite true. She is not, however, old enough to make a decision all by herself which will affect her entire life, and that of another. The parents of a minor child certainly have the right to raise their child as they see fit, and to counsel that child on her decisions - whether those choices are regarding school, job, or pregnancy.

If teens fully understood the consequences of unprotected sex, they'd be a lot less likely to engage in sexual activity; just as if teens fully understood the ramifications of many other activities, they'd think twice about participating. Teens typically have tunnel-vision: they believe they are invincible, that they know best, and that bad things happen to others. This is why they have parents, who can best direct them in making choices.

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