Her's and the guy's

Should parents be allowed to choose weather their teenage daughter has a abortion?

My first instinct was "F*** no!" I can't imagine anyone being forced to have a abortion if they were really passionate on keeping it. They might feel empty inside if they were forced into a abortion. And on the other hand (as a firm pro-choicer) I believe we have enough girls not graduating to change a diaper. And if they didn't want to be a mother, should we ever force someone to take on the role of one? Even if the parent said "Ok, you don't have to mother the baby, but you have to go through the pregnancy and labour." I'ld feel very sorry for that girl if that wasn't what she wanted.

So, as soon as i read this question i was horrified....But then i thought about it and then thought-

What about the 12-13 year olds who don't really know what they want? When your 12 life is easy. You won't understand the hard-ships of p[arenhood and might think it's just like on TV.....Parents probably are a lil' bit wiser and have lived a lil' bit more.

But then again- THere are so many complications- i'm not sure.

Minors do not have the full rights as adults, and while the parents should try to listen to their child's opinion, the legal end decision should be the parents'.

It's a hard question because there are so many different possible situations, like pandawinx was saying. But I think in the majority of situations, the parents would know more and make the right decision.

If a kid gets pregnant and they're still living at home, they don't have the economic means or foresight to raise a kid properly anyway, so in the majority of situations it would really be the parents taking care of everything anyway.

I'm pretty sure parents do not have the legal right to force their children to undergo non-essential procedures.

You can tell her what to do, but if she fights you, she fights you.

"If a kid gets pregnant and they're still living at home, they don't have the economic means or foresight to raise a kid properly anyway, so in the majority of situations it would really be the parents taking care of everything anyway."

I'm not sure....If you were a female 14 year old, who was pregnant, and obviously a littlle bit traumatised by your nine months and then labour.....Wouldn't you feel like their was a bit of a reminder of everything you've been through in your house? And the awkward moment when one day you tell your son/daughter you not really his/her big sister...?

The "depends" choices don't make any sense.If it's a binary choice like this one,and the parents have the right to block one of the options, then it's the exact same thing as having the choice themselves.

I think it depends on a LOT of information. Abortion in my mind is WRONG, i mean if they were that irresponsible they should have to pay for it. Plus killing is NEVER good. But then again everyone has their own opinion and i am not the world so.......if the family can and WANTS to support the child *bc if the pregnant person is a teen then the parents are going to have to help out ALOT* and so the parents CAN interfere. Unless the teen has other options of caring for the baby then it should be up to the parents.

I don't understand how a parent could force a teenager to have an abortion. The only way I can imagine, is actually blackmailing the teenager to either kill her baby or they will kick her out and she'll have to support herself somehow (wich sounds pretty impossible to me, since I haven't heard of such cruel parents) Other than that, I don't know in what other way they could make her (carrying her to the doctor and holding her down during the process sounds unrealistic as well) But even if they could, I think the only one responsible for an unborn baby are its own parents.

"I don't understand how a parent could force a teenager to have an abortion. The only way I can imagine, is actually blackmailing the teenager to either kill her baby or they will kick her out and she'll have to support herself somehow (wich sounds pretty impossible to me, since I haven't heard of such cruel parents"

I have. Sadly, that happens.

Parents should be able to inform their child on what they think is the best choice, and the girl should have councilling, or talk to an underage mother, at least, but in the end, the child is hers and it is her choice if she wants to keep it or not. If she fails at raising the child properly then the child should be placed with it's grandparents, or a foster home.

They have to make the decisions for all the other medical stuff for their kids so why not abortion as well? That is, if the girl isn't eighteen yet.

Where would the "Pro-Choice" be in this if a girl undergoes an abortion by force?

I'm TOTALLY against abortion but the family should sit down together and make the decision as a family, they should have a say but ultimately she decides.

@DarkCEpitome; Teenagers can't make the choice yet because their brain hasn't developed fully yet. Until the age of 21 or 24 (depends on the individual) we can't connect our actions to the far future yet. We can't see the consequences that clear. Especially not when hormones is pumping through our veins(which is the case during pregnancy).

Where is the "Pro-Life" if the girl has the child and then she realises that her childhood, her youth, the best time of her life, is ruined? That she doesn't have a life like she was supposed to have anymore?

Chaan94: But I fail to understand how one can deem the fact that a young woman has no say over her pregnancy or (if I must see it like this on this fanpick) her body to be "Pro-Choice". To me, that is the opposite of 'Pro-Choice' and what plenty accuse the Pro-Life side of doing; taking the rights away from the woman or girl. Despite my being Pro-Life, I would at least feel comfortable if a teenage girl was not dictated by her parents into getting her abortion. At least she can have other options rather than be forced into only one: abortion.

I know plenty of women in their twenties who act less mature than most of my younger teenage friends and younger teenage girls I know of on here, so I don't see why we are choosing to take away rights over something that isn't even entirely related with adolescence or age. In that sense, women under the age of thirty should have their rights to keep the child or not rely on their parents or past guardians. And even with this, it truly would not and does not matter if the teen's maturity is that of Einstein's or that of a damn fool, it still isn't her parents' body or their unborn child.

To me, if one really believes that it's about the woman's choice, then I believe in that sense that the teenage girl alone should have the choice...unless there is a father who wishes to raise the child present, but that's a whole other can of worms evidently. =/


"Where is the "Pro-Life" if the girl has the child and then she realises that her childhood, her youth, the best time of her life, is ruined? That she doesn't have a life like she was supposed to have anymore?"

Aye, must we go into this on this fanpick?

What makes me Pro-Life is my belief in the unborn baby's life having considerable value, of its vitality being just as essential and significant as ours. That, from what I understand, is the whole point and concept of the Pro-Life stance.

I could go over all of my Pro-Life opinions and beliefs, but the paragraph above best sums it up.

Along with the fact that I understand how difficult a teenage mother's life can be, seeing others' experiences and having watched Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant occasionally, yet the teen mother is still able to build a life for herself despite the odds and succeed for herself and her child. Fantasia Barrino would be an excellent example of this, along with a list of others I could find by the end of tonight.

With a teen mother, there is still hope and life itself for her.

For an unborn child that is aborted, there is neither except hopefully Heaven.

That's why I'm Pro-Life.

Basically, I don't think parents should be allowed to force their child to keep an unwanted pregnancy, but I do think they have the right to make their daughter get an abortion.
I mean, if the child wants to keep the baby, that would mean a lot of stress and expense on the girl and her parents, and it's very selfish of a girl to do that to her family.
And if a girl doesn't want to keep a baby, she shouldn't have to. But parents do have the right to make their kid get an abortion. If I had a daughter who got pregnant, I'd make her get an abortion, because I wouldn't want a baby to wreck her life. And even if she chooses to put it up for adoption, I still think it would be a bad life choice.

^ I agree.

Plus, they couldn't even trust her with a condom, what makes you think they can trust her with a baby?

"Plus, they couldn't even trust her with a condom, what makes you think they can trust her with a baby?"
Condoms break?

"Teenagers can't make the choice yet because their brain hasn't developed fully yet. Until the age of 21 or 24 (depends on the individual) we can't connect our actions to the far future yet. We can't see the consequences that clear. Especially not when hormones is pumping through our veins(which is the case during pregnancy). "

You're kidding right? Maybe not all of us can do that, but when push comes to shove in this world, sometimes things HAVE to work that way in your brain. If I had become pregnant and I was told by my parents to have that pregnancy come to term, oh my...they must not see the future clearly either, because if they do succeed in forcing me to stay pregnant because 'they know best' they wouldn't have this teenager anymore.

Until the age of 21 or 24 (depends on the individual) we can't connect our actions to the far future yet.

Um, I don't think so. Perhaps I was just special, but my biggest problems has always been that I constantly think "how will this effect me in the future? Will this damage my chance at college? Will this damage my chance at my dream/ job/home?" I've never been able to just "live for the moment."

On the flip side, as a 21 year old who surrounds herself with other 21+ people, I can't say I've ever seen a pattern between age and connecting actions to the future. Some people (like myself) have always done that. Some people, at almost 50, still can't.

^ Exactly, thank you bri-marie.

It all depends on the person.
I never seem to have time to think of consequences when i'm faced with cross-roads (something that isnt exactly handy), but someone half my age could be able to map it out perfectly in their head in 30 seconds.

Which is actually why I've came to the conclusion that perhaps the answer of this question varies on who this hypothectical teenager is.

I think parents provided that the soon to be mother is 19 and under, should be allowed to chose what is best for their daughter. Sometimes parents can help the situation and its better to have help making a choice then having to do it by yourself

The teen is the one who has to go through the mental and physical pains and stress of pregnancy, for that alone, she should decide. The parents aren't the ones who are going to have their lives completely altered, not as much as the teen. They aren't going to face bullying and rumors. They aren't going to be the ones who are risking their future. Sometimes a teen will know what's best for themselves and what they can handle. If a pregnant teen isn't sure that she can handle motherhood, then it is her right to have an abortion.

And the reverse is true too. If the teen thinks that she can handle raising a kid and would be devastated to lose the baby, then that is also her choice.If the teen thinks that having an abortion would be too much for her to handle and that she'd rather consider alternatives like adoption, that should be her choice as well. It can trigger depression to have an abortion if an abortion isn't wanted. I imagine that it would be very similar to having a miscarriage.

As for the condom comment I saw above;

1. It isn't the female who puts the condom on. A female can use birth control but the male is the one who uses the condom (as far as I know, I'm ace so I ain't know jack shit about this lol)
1b. Yes, she can say no if the dude refuses to put on the condom, but she still shouldn't be punished if she chooses to have sex anyways and a pregnancy happens.

2. Condoms break, birth control fails, sometimes it just happens.

3. Wearing a condom and raising a baby are two different things. I feel like most people would have the sense to go in with more planning when raising a kid than they would with thinking about condoms.

4. The parents can help the teen raise the kid if need be. Sex is more private.

Granted I do think that teens probably shouldn't be raising kids as they aren't even grown themselves and their decision making can be poor and impulsive. But I still think that they should have the choice because it can be just as mentally damaging to force a person into getting an abortion as it is to prevent them from having one.