Now that anti-choice advocates have successfully convinced voters that young women are not entitled to make the decision about whether to carry an accidental pregnancy to term without notifying their parents, they are trying to make it so that these young women are unable to get an abortion without a parent's permission.
House Bill 391 had its hearing in House Judiciary today. It would require minors seeking an abortion to get signed consent from a parent. The only exception would be a judicial bypass process and even then only if the judge determines that the minor has been abused by her parents.
So, a young woman who has parents who oppose abortion but have not harmed her, could be forced to have a baby she doesn't want and cannot care for. And even those parents who don't have strong feelings about abortion could be scared into refusing to allow their child to get one by the information the bill requires they read about the procedure. A young woman could be forced to carry a pregnancy to term even if it was the result of rape.
Even young women have a right to determine what happens to their bodies. They are not incubators at their parents' disposal. They have a right to privacy. Most involve their parents in decisions regarding pregnancy. We must protect those who feel they cannot do that. We strongly oppose this bill.
