Edith Romero
Mrs. Cruz
English 10 Period 3
8 March 2018
Teens trying to obtain abortion without parental consent began as not a very big issue
because not many knew about abortions. With time it evolved to teen pregnancy rates have
increased and society began to accept as a not big issue. For some, it meant trouble because their
children are getting pregnant and are aborting without parental consent. For others it doesn't
really matter because they would support their child's decisions. According to the HIPAA
privacy rule, “if a state or other law prohibits disclosure of information or records to a parent
without the minors consent, the rule does not allow a provider to disclose without the minors
permission.”
Many support the belief that minors should make their own decisions on their own body.
The american dream is to live in a perfect house with a perfect family but what if your life took a
turn when you were a teen, you got pregnant and couldn’t care for it or feared of abuse. In the
article “The HIPAA privacy rule and adolescents : legal questions and clinical challenges” by
Abigail English and Caral A. Ford displays the fact that if the teen told the doctor about the
abortion in confidence the doctor is not allowed to discuss it unless it endangers the teenager.
The HIPAA rule was made to achieve fro more people to seek medical care without worrying
about information getting out, in this case parents being told about a teens pregnancy and
abortion plans. The author claims “The minor has the right to consent to health care and he's
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consented” The minor can have health care and decide things on own and also have it be
confidential. Also the article mentioned “If a state or other law explicitly permits, but does not
require, information to be disclosed to a parent,” Depending on the state it does not require
Some readers may challenge the view that parental consent is required for a minor to
obtain abortion. In the article “Point-counterpoint: parental consent for abortions” by New and
Notes takes issue with minors do need parental consent to obtain abortions. In the opposing good
article it claims “...parents can give that minor psychological reinforcements for the child before,
during and after the medical procedure.” Yes the parent will do what they think is best for you
but this perspective fails to mention that not all parents are supportive with their child's
decisions. There also might be violence in the family. There are many teens pregnant with
violence at home and they fear if they tell their parents they will by physically or emotionally
abused. In a PDF file by Prochoiceamerica.org it discuss a story of girl “My older sister got
pregnant when she was seventeen. My mother pushed her against the wall slapped her across the
face and grabbed her by the hair, pulled her through the living room out the front door and threw
her off the porch. We don't know where she is now.” (p18) due to the violence at home this girl
left and raised her child on her own. Also in the file it brought to light that within minors that did
not tell their parents of their abortion 30% of them have had violence in their family.
It is apparent that minors do not need parental consent to obtain an abortion because of
confidentiality with doctors and violence within the family. Although others may argue that
parents should be notified about what their child is doing, teens getting abortion without parental
consent continues to be problem in some states causing girls to travel out of state to get
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abortions. I believe teen have the right to get an abortion without their parents permission
Work cited
counterclaim- https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4656504
https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2004/hipaa-privacy-rule-and-adolescents-legal-questio
ns-and-clinical-challenges
Violence -
https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1.-Mandatory-Parental-Involve
ment-Laws-Threaten-Young-Womens-Safety.pdf