A teen will look at abortion as solving the immediate problem of being pregnant and not be interested in the damage to her own future health an abortion will cause. Teenagers are known to be short-sighted. If her parents are caring and intelligent (and not all are) they would want to do everything in their power to protect their daughter's future health, physical and emotional, even if it means 9 months of discomfort, embarrasment, inconvenience and setbacks. An abortion is damaging to the mothers body and mind and I would hope her parents would want to protect her from that by encouraging her to bring the baby to term and allowing someone to raise him or her if the birth family is unable or chooses not to. Protect your daughter's future by helping her be well informed about the pro's and con's of aborting in relation to her own health and future family planning.

abck7n43:

A teen will look at abortion as solving the immediate problem of being pregnant and not be interested in the damage to her own future health an abortion will cause. Teenagers are known to be short-sighted. If her parents are caring and intelligent (and not all are) they would want to do everything in their power to protect their daughter's future health, physical and emotional, even if it means 9 months of discomfort, embarrasment, inconvenience and setbacks. An abortion is damaging to the mothers body and mind and I would hope her parents would want to protect her from that by encouraging her to bring the baby to term and allowing someone to raise him or her if the birth family is unable or chooses not to. Protect your daughter's future by helping her be well informed about the pro's and con's of aborting in relation to her own health and future family planning.

"An abortion is damaging to the mothers body and mind..."

And carrying a child to term isn't damaging to a teenager's body or mind? "...9 months of discomfort, embarrasment, inconvenience and setbacks..." sounds pretty damaging to me.

And what if the daughter in question is 13,or 14, or 15?

Do you really mean to say that you prefer the sanctioning of the having of children by children?

Kristin: 9 months of discomfort, embarrasment (one could argue that teen pregnancy lacks the embarassment it once did), inconvenience and setbacks are just that....not damage.

My ex-wife of 20 years had an abortion when she was 18, she was busy partying and did'nt want the burden of a child. When our son was born, she began feeling VERY guilty about the abortion and often wondered aloud what kind of child he or she would have been. She cried over this on several occasions. No amount of reasoning, consoling or counseling ever answered her questions or really relieved her of the guilt she felt. To some degree it even adversely affected the relationship she had with our son which I always found to be strange and I still cannot understand it.

That, my friend, is damage.

By the way...my ex was not in anyway a religious woman so for God's sake don't go blaming the Christian fanatics.

You can't say that humiliation and setbacks aren't damage. "Damaging the mind" can be exactly that. So she chose to have an abortion and then felt guilty about it - okay? Just because some people later regret the decision doesn't mean that they shouldn't be able to make that choice. There are thousands of women who make the choice to have an abortion after careful deliberation and, though of course it is an extremely difficult decision, do not regret it. It's all up to how that woman personally feels about it - which is why it is a personal choice.

A woman's decision? Okay...these aren't women...they are children. They do not have the emotional, or psychological maturity to make these decisions alone. Also...we're talking the first trimester here, right?...ever been pregnant? It's like the most insane case of PMS times a thousand. I'm in my first timester with child #4, in a stable marriage, with great kids, and friends...and I wouldn't make a life altering decision alone right now. WHY???? Because I'm pretty much insane. Seriously...I can't imagine adding teen hormones into the mix. But, see...I know that looking at things objectively during the first trimester is pretty much impossible. Luckily I have a support system to draw on, because I need it...and I'm in my mid-30's...how much more would a young child need at such a time.

Keep in mind that choosing to have a child is also a life-altering decision. Even more so as a teenager. Making the decision to have a child, already feeling the way you described, isn't going to be less life-changing than having an abortion. Yes, if you choose to have an abortion you will have to deal with the emotional consequences of that for the rest of your life. If you choose to have a child, you will have to deal with that child for the rest of your life.

Also, unless you personally know the teen, I can't see how you can say they aren't a woman. People mature at extremely different rates. It's not like once you hit 18 you are magically a woman. It all depends on the person.

So what are you saying? That any pregnant female needs to have decisions made for her because the first trimester is too much for the rational part of her nature to bear??? So what do you do, hon? Sign off on all decision-making til you deliver?

That's a pretty lame reason to allow someone else to decide something for you. You aren't incapacitated or mentally incompetent when you're pregnant--you're just pregnant!!

You might as well suggest that women oughtn't hold any kind of serious job or assignment because they are susceptible to hysterics. Ever wonder why the words hysteria and hysterectomy have the same first six letters?

Get a grip.

When my kids were each 17, they had to have my permission to visit the doctor, get a blood test, etc. However, I had to have their permission to pick up a copy of their shot records, get the results of the blood tests, etc.

If a 17-year old is responsible for who sees his shot records - even the person who took him for them before he was old enough to know what a shot was - should a 17-year old have the final decision about what her body will be expected to go through for 9 months, and what may seriously impact her life and earning potential for the rest of her life?