Birth Control and Pre-Natal Health Care Access for Teens

My state legislature just passed a bill that requires pregnant teens to get parental consent before they can get prenatal care. That puts us in the minority, because 34 more enlightened states have laws that permit minors to get prenatal care without parental consent. Put yourself in the position of a teen with an abusive father. Would you want to say, "Hey, Dad, I'm pregnant -- can I go see the doctor?" Probably not. You'd probably get your a** kicked, at the very least.

At the same time, my state legislature passed a law banning abortion in the state. Now, that law won't take effect unless Roe v. Wade is overturned, but it says a lot about the mentality here. No unborn children will be saved by this law at this time, but they will certainly be endangered by the first one. Without early prenatal care, both mother and child are at risk, whether the mother is 16 or 26. I don't understand the mindset that would put knowing everything about your daughter's life above her health.

I just read today's (3/30/07) NARAL Choice Action Network's letter, in which they said "Birth control is not a controversial issue. Americans of all political persuasions support women's access to contraception and family-planning services." Maybe if the woman is over 18. I'm 48, but if I had a teen aged daughter, I would want her to have access to healthcare, whether she told me about it or not. If I'm not the first one to find out whether or not she's pregnant. I'm going to figure it out eventually, and in the meantime, I want her to be healthy. But she might not be, here in North Dakota. And family planning? Planned Parenthood offices are subject to almost daily protest in this great state, by people who think those offices are all about birth control and abortion, and don't get that they are also about fertility and infertility issues, and spacing pregnancies for the best health of both mother and child, and offer parenting classes to new or expecting parents.