Any girl who is under eighteen and gets pregnant and wants to abort should not have the decision be up to them. She should not have the right to decide the fate of her baby because she is too young to make such a vast decision. She will only cause herself trauma and depression. By leaving the choice up to her parents, it gives her a way to save herself too. If she chooses to abort her baby, she is destroying her body which is still not even fully developed. If she wants to destroy her baby by abortion, the final decision should be left to her parents because hopefully they can help make a decision that will better the minor, her future, and her life in general.

Parents have the right to know what their child is going through. Even if the minor wants the abortion, at least the parents could be by her side and understand instead of never knowing and helping her deal with the consequences. Legally, a child who is under eighteen is still under their parent's wing. What their parent decides should be the final decision because they pay the bills and provide a home, in most cases. Out of respect too, parent notification is needed.

Close to all teenagers that have abortions have some sort of emotional difficulties later in life. For instance, a girl I know got pregnant by her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was unsupportive of her having the baby so she debated going ahead with the abortion. She started to show early so she told her mother about a month into the pregnancy that she was going to have the baby. She knew she had to get her mother's permission because she still lived in the same household and was financially dependent on her mother. The mother insisted she abort and they spent two months deciding what to do. In the end, they both decided it would be best to abort. At least she had her mother by her side instead of going behind her back. In her defense, she did not want to abort because she did not believe in it, but this sort of situation happens a lot. Parents and children disagree on so many things that if a child gets pregnant, the parents decide in black and white the future of the baby. Parents have a right to know what their child is going through. Many kids do not tell their parents a lot of things, but if a child is deciding whether to kill a fetus or not because of an accident they did, parents deserve to have a say instead of not knowing at all. This girl ended up having a lot of issues with depression after, and since her mother was informed, her mother knew how to help get her through the tough times instead of being naive to her daughter's needs.

Since as of now in the year 2001, there are no laws in California, maybe there should be laws in California to at least notify a parent of the abortion and then get their consent. If a minor doesn't tell her parents, she could keep having abortions over and over again thus never learning from her mistakes. She could use it as her way out, instead of being more careful. If her parents knew, this trend could have been stopped sooner and a baby could have been saved. Also, parent's tax money is being used for abortions and they have no clue half the time. Money could be saved if abortions could be limited. Right now at Planned Parenthood, it seems like abortions are free for alls.

Abortion should not be a way out for these teenagers to cover up their mistakes. Since these girls are mature enough to be 'having sex', then they should be mature enough to deal with the consequences. If there was a major mistake like rape then abortion should be number one but otherwise, the decision should be one of the parents of the minor. Reinforcement for a girl who is under eighteen to have the baby and then give it up for adoption, rather than abortion, is a better solution to the problem. Abortion is not a good enough answer to an accident. It is being used as a cover-up because a girl can go to Planned Parenthood and receive an abortion, but did that girl really learn to be more careful? By having to deal with that accident for nine months will really teach one to be more careful and think before they act. It will also teach others about the consequences so this trend does not keep happening.

Since sex is looked at so casually nowadays, teens might start to realize how serious it actually is. By learning what can happen to you before you engage in the act, you might be able to avoid the issues of unwanted pregnancy or losing your parent's respect. Some girls are more scared of their parent's reactions versus surgery, so if every girl could feel more comfortable to go to their parents for help, money and lives could be saved.

Student Fact sheet 2.04- This article looks at births and abortions and the underlying facts. Statistics- This page is designed to show numbers of how many people go ahead and give their babies up for adoption.

No Choice for Teens-This article is about Judge Anderson appointing a lawyer to a fetus. Pregnancy Counseling Link- This link is for teens to get counseling and to learn more about the risks.

Planned Parenthood- This website presents the alternatives to abortion and help to all teenagers. Abortion Overview-This site provides legal information and laws. Mary's Shelter- This is a site where teenager girls can go to have their babies if their parents are not okay with it.

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