Should teenagers have parental consent before having an abortion essay

The act of having an abortion is intimidating and emotionally galling to even the most stable and mature of women and for that reason, teenagers should be made to have parental consent before having an abortion – if only to ensure that they provide the correct emotional support afterwards. Equally, teenagers are still legally minors and as such, their parents should be involved in any medical procedure that they undertake – for instance, a surgeon would be unable to perform heart surgery without the patient’s parental consent so why should an abortion be treated any differently?

In January 2010, Time Magazine reported that teenage pregnancy and abortion is on the rise with figures on the up turn for the first time since the early 1990s (Luscombe) and this indicates that this is an issue which is in need of addressing. Teenagers lack of emotional maturity that is required to responsibly handle having sexual intercourse but still do so due to a number of reasons including peer pressure and media representations. However, whilst it is all fun initially, teenagers are fundamentally ill-equipped to manage raising a child and so, understandably, abortions are rife. However, teenagers require their parental support through this difficult time to ensure that they are not emotionally scarred for life.

In conclusion, teenagers should be required to have parental consent in order to have an abortion. This is because they require their parents’ emotional support as well as their guidance in making the correct decision. An abortion is an extremely upsetting and difficult experience – the parents should be involved in order to assist their child through this and to ensure that they receive correct and proper medical treatment in an authentic and hygienic environment.

References

“ New Data: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion on the Rise.” Time Magazine. Belinda Luscombe. 26 January 2010. Web. 24 August 2011.