CNN.com poll: Should a pregnant girl be able to get an abortion without...

[LiberalVoice]

...either parent knowing?

Yes 45%

No 55%

http://www.cnn.com

I voted no. Curious to hear what others think.

[DireStrike]

1. Case by case basis I think, but mostly no.

In some cases it would do no good to inform the parent, but those would be few and far between.

In any case, the girl should be able to get an abortion without parental CONSENT.

[kaygore]

7. We are returning to the era of backroom abortions

The most desperate are the teenagers. If they are old enough to be tried for murder, then they are old enough to make determinations about their own bodies.

[trotsky]

2. If every girl had at least one loving, dedicated parent...

then my answer would be no as well.

But this is the real world, where sometimes a girl's parents would be the WORST people for her to deal with. So I have to say yes.

[LiberalVoice]

5. But should a child be allowed to make that decision herself? nt

[havocmom]

18. Shall we let parents who impregnate their kids make the decision?

It's not a perfect world. There are a lot of BAD BAD parents out there.

Mothers who either 'didn't know what was going on' or did know and failed to protect an under-aged daughter from molestation are not better nominees for making the 'child's' decisions than fathers who molest. Sadly, there are too many such cases.

Not always the girl and a boyfriend responsible for the situation. Sometimes, it is the parents themselves.

You want them deciding? Hell, in some families, just knowing the female child is pregnant is enough for parents to harm or kill. There are some pretty bad parents out there.

[LiberalVoice]

30. Yeah thats true.

I guess a middle ground can be difficult in a situation like that.

[havocmom]

31. Difficult?

Quite the understatement

I have seen girls beaten nearly to death for telling parents they were pregnant and NOT telling Mom that Dad is responsible.

My brother in law the cop HAS seen girls beaten to death for the offense of going to bad parents for help.

A child should be able to go to parents. Sadly, just not the case in too many families.

[Warpy]

34. That's what Planned Parenthood counselors are for

They do a good job.

[trotsky]

35. Excluding parental notification

does not automatically mean that no adults would be involved in the decision.

[LiberalVoice]

45. Very true. nt

[kaygore]

3. Done

[Epiphany4z]

4. for my own kid I want say no

but I know that telling a parent your pregnant can sometimes mean a beating...or sometimes the parent is the father. It is a tough question no doubt I lean toward yes but wonder if there can be some sort of compromise to a blanket yes.

[MindPilot]

19. "sometimes the parent is the father"

Are you implying that a father would be unable to deal with a pregnant daughter?

edit for clarity

[Epiphany4z]

21. no

I am implying sometimes fathers molest daughters

[MindPilot]

29. OK, got it--wasn't sure where you were going with that.

And that's exactly why I think these notification laws are a sham. They appear to help the problem, but in reality they will make the situation worse for those directly affected. As I've said before, pro-life Christians are not pro-life; they are pro-suffering.

[ixion]

6. I voted yes

'cause it's her body.

[havocmom]

8. 'No' ONLY if EVERY male she knows will offer up DNA for some tests

EVERY male she knows... That way we can find out who to send the child support orders to, or even the sheriff, depending on her age and relationship to the baby's father

That outta take care of the 'forced pregnancy groups' AND round up a heap of child molesters at the same time.

[wavesofeuphoria]

9. Should a girl be able to get birth control ...

without either parenting knowing?

[MindPilot]

10. I'm neither a teenage girl or the parent of one, but I say yes.

I'm going to guess if she could talk with her parents about being pregnant, she probably wouldn't be.

[niyad]

11. I voted yes--as the previous poster said, in a perfect world, a girl would

have at least one loving and caring and helpful parent, but that is not always the case.

Should a pregnant girl be able to get an abortion without either parent knowing?

Yes 45% 34710 votes

No 55% 42683 votes
Total: 77393 votes

[abluelady]

12. I Believe the Law Should Allow It

Not every child can go to their parents. Every law can be abused. In an ideal world everyone would use birth control and everyone would have a loving home, etc., etc., etc. But it ain't that way!

[wellst0nev0ter]

13. You're Either For MORE Teenage Pregnancies

or you're for less. It's just that simple.

[calico1]

14. I voted "yes" because you can't assume that

every girl that gets pregnant has good, responsible parents. I have to err on the side of protecting those girls who come from homes where they are abused, who may have gotten pregnant as a result of incest, etc.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

15. Most of the parents who would say no

Are the same ones whose child wouldn't be able to turn to them.

[havocmom]

23. BINGO!

Respect v Control

Is the girl a person or a possession?

How parents answer that in their hearts, minds, and guts would matter.

[livetohike]

25. Ditto havocmom

well said.

[feduppuke]

36. Difficult Issue

If abortions are allowed without parental consent, how can other medical procedures require it? If my daughter wanted to get implants, should she be allowed to do so with my knowledge or consent? What if she wanted to undergo an experimental procedure?

This is far more complex than 'Is she a person or posession'. It involves a person who (according to the law) is not capable of making her own decisions, can not enter into binding cntracts, etc. Allowing for court intervention if a parent is involved in an incestuous relationship should solve that problem.

I am not in favor of a lot of restrictions on medical procedures, but don't see how we can allow one to occur without parental consent while requiring permission for others.

[havocmom]

43. Never said it wasn't a difficult issue

And I also know children do not have the life experiences to enable them to always make wise life choices. But on THIS issue, no one answer, or prohibition, fits all.

Then there are times when parental choices re medical care for their children are overeridden by the courts/state/medical care institutions. If the courts/authorities don't like the decisions parents make about medical treatments for kids, the courts/authorities do it their way.

So if parents control ALL medical choices for offspring, but the state is allowed to veto parental decisions... AH! Children are property of the state! Got it now.

Yep it is a most compliated matter when the state starts making the choices. And that is what is happening when laws start interferring with people. It is a VERY complicated can of worms and one size does not fit all.

[MindPilot]

46. Good question! Would we ask it if a teenage boy wanted a vasectomy?

[Rose Siding]

16. Must a parent who may have impregnated her also approve?

As a mom I vote yes, she should be able to get an abortion without parental approval.

[Cerridwen]

17. In a perfect world, would a teen girl need to get an abortion;

with or without notifying her parents?

I would love it if I lived in a world in which all our children were loved and cherished and cared for, in which our children were taught about sex and sexual health in healthy and sane ways, in which contraception was 100% effective and safe and available, in which rape and incest never happened, in which we, adults didn't send mixed messages about sex to our children, in which we, adults didn't send mixed messages about what it is to have children...

In the meantime, I feel we need to provide an "out" for young girls who find themselves in such a position; maybe we can create a perfect world in the meantime.

I voted yes.

[niyad]

20. if that ridiculous law the senate passed actually goes into effect, I have

the following question and observation:

HOW is it going to be enforced? is every female over the age of 10 going to have to submit to a pregnancy test on leaving or entering a state? fake id's are easy to come by, after all.

if this insane piece of legislation goes into effect, I think that the parents should be able to bill each and every self-righteous, wanna-get re-elected cretin who voted for it, for the medical and funeral expenses--especially that idiot demint.

[Solly Mack]

22. Yes

[livetohike]

24. We are headed in a backwards direction in this country in this

regard, imo.

Back to where abortions were only legal in a handful of states. Back to where pregnant women had to find the money to travel or risk a back alley abortion.

[MamaBear]

26. Yes

I regret that I have but one vote to give to this issue.

Yes, dammit. Some parents are untrustworthy, and their poor kids know it.

[terip64]

27. Yes. I can imagine a situation quite easily, unfortunately. n/t

[jerry611]

28. This is an interesting question...

...because you want to say yes, but then when asked if you own kid should be allowed to get an abortion without your permission, then the answer is no.

The debate here is about abuse. If both parents are sexually abusing their daughter...then how is she supposed to get permission to get an abortion.

It's a complicated issue.

[Bretttido]

40. If my daughter wants to get an abortion and not tell me

That's fine with me... though I believe she would come to me first. I would never want her put in a position where she must choose how others think of her over her health.

[Igel]

32. Badly worded question.

In almost every case, a judge can stand in loco parentis and grant authorization. The bill that was just passed makes no change to this. So the easy answer is "yes", a girl can get an abortion without her parents' knowing.

With the choice reflecting the actual state of affairs excluded, the questin poses a false choice. Many "no" answers won't take into account that the question has little to do with reality: people will assume that the choice is between "no, no permission needed" versus "yes, parents' permission needed".

[Warpy]

33. Why ON EARTH would you vote NO????

Most girls will tell their parents. Some simply can't. Maybe the father is HER father. Maybe the parents are divorcing and each wants to use her as a weapon against the other. Maybe they're both religious nuts. Maybe they're strung out on booze or dope. Maybe they're just plain ABSENT and she's basically raising herself.

Please don't assume all parents in the country are like YOU. They most certainly are NOT. There has to be a mechanism for young girls to end a pregnancy if the parents are not the type who can be consulted.

[smokey nj]

37. YES.........

Not every child is born to understanding parents, and there are people who feel that motherhood is the perfect way to punish a young woman for engaging in sexual activity.

[karlrschneider]

38. Poll just changed, "Does stability in Iraq have anything to do with

a safe America?"

[LiberalVoice]

39. awfully dumb wording.

Of course it has SOMETHING to do with it.

[Bretttido]

41. It's a poll to see what percent of people voting are stupid

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

42. Yes. It's her body. Should she tell her parents? Probably.

But, there are certainly obvious exceptions. i.e. fundy parents who object abortion.

[MorningGlow]

44. Different poll now

And this one's wording is no better:

Does stability in Iraq have anything to do with a safe America?

Yes 52%
No 48%

:wtf: does THAT mean?