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@denverkid, no I haven't read the contract. I don't live in Washington and have a child enrolled in their education system.
I simply was asking if it wasn't on there, wouldn't it make sense that the Mother of the teen didn't know it would mean her kid could get an abortion w/o anyone having to let her (the Mom) know?
I'm just saying that generally in medical contracts where a child is concerned, they have to disclose all medical procedures that the parent would be granting their consent to.
Personal situation here comes to mind;
My son was 2 weeks old and had a tumor in his stomach. They did the surgery, and then for the next 10 weeks he ran high fevers, cried constantly due to pain, vomited nonstop all day long every day, and was rapidly losing weight.
We had him to the Dr.'s back and forth, even a few late night emergency room runs when he quit breathing.
Turned out, his first surgeon had left adhesive tapes inside of him and closed him up with those in there. They were obstructing his bowel and he nearly died.
They rushed him into emergency surgery, with the same surgeon! I threw a fit and demanded one of the other two surgeons operate. I actually had to sign a paper firing my son's doctor and getting a signed letter from one of the other surgeons saying she'd do the operation and that I had medically terminated my son's original surgeon.
I don't know how they do things in other states, I'm just saying that as far as my own experience, the contract had to disclose everything and if it didn't it wasn't valid.
I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if I'm repeating something that has already been said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimbochick
I think this is exactly why some teens do seek out birth control or abortion without their parent's knowledge though, because they know exactly what response they are going to get. Sounds to me like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
I don't think the mother should have any say in her daughters decision to have an abortion. Her religious views is not shared by daughter. It is too bad her daughter had to go behind her back but it is understandable. The mother seam clearly unstable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
I would wonder what I had done that made my daughter distrust me to that extent.
In this case, as the mother is portrayed as strongly pro-life, I can only imagine the crap she would have thrown at her daughter. I cannot blame the kid for going around the approbation. I wonder how the mother found out. If I were the kid I would certainly never have said a word to her.
Dragging this out into the public realm just illustrates this mother concern for her daughter. She has none.
I have raised daughters to their early 20s and have worked with teens, still do. Sometimes the teen simply picks up the wrong vibe from the parent(s). Teens often go behind their parents backs because they assume their parents would say "no" to birth control or an abortion, even if that is not the case. When parents are asked, they usually say they want what is best for their kids and would not want their kids to have a teen pregnancy. It's a little unfair to always blame the parents for foolish decisions that teens make. I heard this story once on NPR about a girl who died in some back alley abortion. She had gone to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test, and when it was positive, she told the PP staff she couldn't tell her parents she was pg and wanted an abortion. Parental consent was required in her state. The girl's parents were interviewed and said they would have consented. I faulted PP a bit in that case for not helping the girl tell her parents. Parents aren't as dumb as their kids sometimes think. Moms will often be suspicious of their daughters having sex when they are heavily involved with a guy, and moms know that with sex can come pregnancy.
I do agree this mom is now behaving inappropriately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by workingclasshero
The age of majority was set by Federal law in 1972 and it is 18, and a Minor may not be bound by a legal contract. anything requiring a signature at the hospital (clinic) is considered a contract. which a MINOR can not legally enter into, under federal law. the state can ADD to that law, (ie making it 21), but they can not take away from that federal law
The age to vote in federal elections was set at 18 in 1972. However, that does not make 18 the defacto age of majority in every state for every situation. The age of majority in Nebraska, for ex. is 19. My state, Colorado, with its libertarian leanings, does not have a specific age of majority, though judges usually consider it to be 18. So an under 18 year old can get an immunization, for ex, w/o a parent's signature. Also, as has been pointed out, age to obtain birth control in Washington state is set by Washington law.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal
Fifteen yr. olds are NOT allowed to schedule any medical surgery or procedure without parental/legal guardian signed consent with the exception of abortion. Yet, abortion carries real health risks to the girl/woman. Why then, other than political agenda, should the parental/legal guardianship consent be waived for this medical procedure?
This is only going to get worse with the new "health reform" law. Planned Parenthood will actually be allowed to run medical clinics IN the schools. The funding is in the bill for just that provision.
See above re: age of consent. Also, laws regarding reproductive issues have long been different.
Wow... this is a seriously scary point of view. I think this would be the time when child protective services would politely step in and tell you you are an unfit mother and shuffle you off to a sanitarium somewhere.. Any mother who threatens their child with death (even as a joke or in anger) needs counseling and needs to have their children taken away. This dangerous state of mind obviously gets passed down.
No wonder people have such a problem with religion and the views it creates.
What does religion have to do with the above situation?
What does religion have to do with the above situation?
The poster said "The law has no right to my child I made that child my wife gave birth to that child and by God's given right he or she is ours."
Thereby saying that "God" gives them the right to view their poor children as property and not human beings. The language that they use is appalling and very telling... he obviously thinks that only he made the child ("I made that child") and not him and his wife together... I'll bet anything he was one of those people who made sure his wife promised to "obey" him during their marriage vows. A very religious, backwards and harmful way of thinking.
The poster said "The law has no right to my child I made that child my wife gave birth to that child and by God's given right he or she is ours."
Thereby saying that "God" gives them the right to view their poor children as property and not human beings. The language that they use is appalling and very telling... he obviously thinks that only he made the child ("I made that child") and not him and his wife together... I'll bet anything he was one of those people who made sure his wife promised to "obey" him during their marriage vows. A very religious, backwards and harmful way of thinking.
Well, a lot of people take God's name in vain. I will give you an argument from the other side and say don't assume so much about someone from a one sentence post.
@denverkid, no I haven't read the contract. I don't live in Washington and have a child enrolled in their education system.
I simply was asking if it wasn't on there, wouldn't it make sense that the Mother of the teen didn't know it would mean her kid could get an abortion w/o anyone having to let her (the Mom) know?
I'm just saying that generally in medical contracts where a child is concerned, they have to disclose all medical procedures that the parent would be granting their consent to.
Personal situation here comes to mind;
My son was 2 weeks old and had a tumor in his stomach. They did the surgery, and then for the next 10 weeks he ran high fevers, cried constantly due to pain, vomited nonstop all day long every day, and was rapidly losing weight.
We had him to the Dr.'s back and forth, even a few late night emergency room runs when he quit breathing.
Turned out, his first surgeon had left adhesive tapes inside of him and closed him up with those in there. They were obstructing his bowel and he nearly died.
They rushed him into emergency surgery, with the same surgeon! I threw a fit and demanded one of the other two surgeons operate. I actually had to sign a paper firing my son's doctor and getting a signed letter from one of the other surgeons saying she'd do the operation and that I had medically terminated my son's original surgeon.
I don't know how they do things in other states, I'm just saying that as far as my own experience, the contract had to disclose everything and if it didn't it wasn't valid.
As to your specific situation, signing whatever paperwork was probably not legally necessarily for them to operate, but instead hospital policy.
There a lot of issues here, but really one core one. Children of different ages - ranging from newborns to teenagers - are different in every aspect. They're treated differently under the laws as well. Despite what people seem to think, most states grant teenagers the right of informed consent when dealing with many medical treatments and procedures. I listed several concrete examples in my last post.
Here's an example in action. There is a free teen STD clinic here in Denver run by the city - I linked to it early. Tests, diagnoses, and treatment of STD are free for any teenager in Denver, and their parents are never asked for consent nor are they informed of any treatment their teenage child gets. It's perfectly legal, not just in Colorado, but in all 50 states (with a few exceptions for specific diseases in some places).
Back to this Washington abortion case. Who knows what the "waiver" actually was - I've not seen a copy. Who knows if it was even necessary - perhaps all the services offered are open to teenagers without parental consent, but the school district just though it would be a good idea to inform parents of the clinic anyway. Perhaps their policy is to not allow students access unless the parent allows it - even if legally they don't need the parents permission. I called my parents a few minutes ago - as far as they could remember (and my mom was PTA president, so they were involved) my high school never sent home a waiver/permission/consent form in order for students to be allowed to go to the school nurse. Whatever the case, this mother signed it.
It all boils down to this core thing: Like it or not, pregnant teenagers in Washington state have the right to seek out and obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent and without a parent being notified. This mother has no legal right to be informed of this by anyone - the school included.
She may believe that the school has an ethical obligation to inform her, if not a legal one. She has every right to be upset. She has every right to be angry with the school, she has ever right to be angry with the abortionist, and she has every right to be angry at her daughter. She has every right to disagree with the law and she has every right to lobby to change it.
The fact remains that under Washington law, she had no right to be informed, therefore her rights were not violated. She can't (successfully) claim injury to do nondisclosure when she's not legally entitled to disclosure.
She may believe that the school has an ethical obligation to inform her, if not a legal one. She has every right to be upset. She has every right to be angry with the school, she has ever right to be angry with the abortionist, and she has every right to be angry at her daughter. She has every right to disagree with the law and she has every right to lobby to change it.
She does. But it does highlight a point that not many really understand what laws are out there and how they apply to minors.
Many people do not keep up with politics except Presidential elections.
They just don't care; not until it personally affects them or their family.
I would be totally upset too though if that happened to a daughter of mine.
And it would make me think twice before signing anything for the school ever again.
There's a lot of crap going on in schools that I think more parents should be aware of but they aren't..especially high school.
She does. But it does highlight a point that not many really understand what laws are out there and how they apply to minors.
Many people do not keep up with politics except Presidential elections.
They just don't care; not until it personally affects them or their family.
I would be totally upset too though if that happened to a daughter of mine.
And it would make me think twice before signing anything for the school ever again.
There's a lot of crap going on in schools that I think more parents should be aware of but they aren't..especially high school.
The rights of minors is a very interesting, very complex issue. Throw abortion into it, and well, you see what you get.
The school has NO RIGHT to do anything with any child unless the parent knows about it and or ask for permission to discuss personal matters.
Nancy Pelosi said at one time that any teenager has the right to seek and abortion through using school counselors and the parents did not need to know about it.
This is wrong.
Keep the school out of peoples personal life. Especially when it comes to helping someone abort a baby.
It is NOT the schools job to teach sex education or get involved in anything to do with it.
Another left wing idea that the parents are not smart enough to make a good decision on anything.
And yes, if this were my child I would be in jail over this. This is my job and they need to mind their own business.
She does. But it does highlight a point that not many really understand what laws are out there and how they apply to minors.
Many people do not keep up with politics except Presidential elections.
They just don't care; not until it personally affects them or their family.
I would be totally upset too though if that happened to a daughter of mine.
And it would make me think twice before signing anything for the school ever again.
There's a lot of crap going on in schools that I think more parents should be aware of but they aren't..especially high school.
But the girl could just as easily have walked outside the school gates and caught a cab to the clinic, had the procedure done, and caught a cab back, all within the law of WA state. I'm not sure with confidentiality laws how much information would be shared between the Swedish Hospital Clinic and the school admin anyway. It does raise a lot of interesting questions though.
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