NEWS: Catch-22, Young Lady

CULTURE: Catch-22, Young Lady

For the first time (in Colorado, anyway), a judge has found that a young pregnant woman is too immature to have an abortion.

You have to like the logic:

Judicial bypass exists for girls who are unwilling to tell their parents about their pregnancies. Apparently, this particular judge thinks, therefore, that applying for a judicial bypass in and of itself makes a girl too immature to have an abortion.

That's some catch, that Catch-22.

For the record, the girl did consult with an adult (the school nurse, who was present at the hearing); her "own needs" would, of course, be the precise reason for having an abortion (that selfish bitch); presumably she hasn't discussed it with a doctor (though she did discuss it with a nurse, obvs.) because she hasn't gotten the judge's goddamn approval to go make that appointment; it seems to me from the article that she understands the risks of abortion as well as most people (and that the judge fails to understand that the risks of giving birth, especially to young women, are in fact ten times greater than the risks of abortion, but hey, he's not the one on trial here, now, is he?).

He's absolutely right, though, that being unemployed and supported by her mother is a mark of grave immaturity in a 16 1/2 year old girl--precisely the kind of situation in which young women should definitely not be allowed to have abortions.

Bitch_PhD is currently reading this book and promises to review it once she's done.

Cross-posted at Bitch PhD

Aaaah, I love logic.
"You are simply too immature and unreliable to NOT have a baby!"
...What?

Wow.

I'd go for using a coat hanger on the judges lawn approach, but that's just me.

This story confuses me. People have to get their parent's permission to have abortions in America? What the shit?

That's ageism and sexism mixed up into one convenient package of horror.

i just love that men can even 'rule' on this sort of decision..ugh..this world is pretty unbelievably stupid sometimes

Woah, they find her to be immature, selfish and she's unemployed and because of that she HAS TO HAVE THE BABY!!!! WTF?
Won't somebody think of the children?

So now that it's out in the open can the girls mother still give the consent, or does stupid-ass overide that too?

* meanwhile the whitehouse has spiraled into a flurry of action, trying to get this guy a seat on the supreme court before next year when GW gets his ass booted out*

i know, it's positively kafkaesque.

for a pregnant minor, a state can require her to get a parent's permission, as long as the state has a judicial bypass procedure like the one in this article whereby she can go to a judge who can decide to let her have an abortion if she is mature enough. *eye roll*

i mean, given that a pregnant girl can be pretty young and not really understand all the information and options with her situation, it sounds ok out of context until you realize that it makes no sense to NOT allow an abortion if you determine that the girl isn't mature enough to handle it, because she's sure as hell not mature enough to have a child. it's mind-boggling.

requiring judicial permission barring parental permission makes sense when a minor's options are a) do the requested act or b) do nothing, but when what you want permission to do is arguably less trouble than the choices you're left with otherwise (adoption, keeping the baby yourself), it becomes absurd.

Wow. Amazing. And a wonderful sign of things to come. No doubt the current Supreme Court would uphold this decision.

Is there anything you could to to encourage a child to run away more?

The fact that the judges name is not released to the public just opens this sort of case up to judicial religious abuse disguised as justice.

What I'm afraid of is a case like this going to the newly-conservative Supreme Court and them using it to strike another blow in the abortion laws. I don't think I'll ever hate anyone as much as I hate George W. Bush for everything he's done as president; the Supreme Court justices he nominated will be a constant reminder of this sorry era in our history, and they'll be there for years to come. I think I'll go throw up now.

Wow, good timing. ^^

Exactly. Although my main problem with it is that parents have no right to refuse medical treatment to their children.

In Britain, the right of the minor to medical attention is protected by the Children's Act (it prevents parents from refusing their child treatment, and states they can not be involved in any part of the medical process if the minor does not consent to it).

Colorado should take heed.

that last sentence should read... "forced to have children".

wow, i didn't know that the UK had such a law.
that's amazing.

Sooooo instead she should have a baby?

I'm still looking for a nice Canadian family to take me in

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too. What a totally fucked up decision.

I hate living in colorado. ugh. Any one want a roommate??
This kind of thing happens here all of the time.
I went to highschool in Colorado Springs- home of Focus on the Family.
We had 8 pregnant cheerleaders in my Sr class.
One of which dropped out of 12 grade Oceanology because the teacher insisted on talking about Darwin. Its so backwords here...

Well, that specific argument would make sense if being pregnant at 16 were an illness or a disease of some sort. And the abortion would be medical treatment necessary to cure a sickness. An abortion is an elective procedure (a choice), unless the girl's life is at risk or there would be some other serious physical consequencess to the girl's body. I believe that consent/notification should be recommended but not mandatory. Mainly because as young as the girl is, she should still have control over her own body. So while I wouldn't make the argument the same way (making it a issue of medical needs, as opposed to choice and life determination), I agree that no one has any business telling a 16 year old girl she can't end a pregnancy.

I am against abortion pure and simple. I am not going to argue my reasons why I am against it, because I won't change your views and you cannot possibly change mine. Obviously she no longer has the choice in the decision, so I think she should put the child up for adoption, there are plenty of kind loving people who would love to have a child and can't. It is screwed up that the state interfered though, being 100% percent against it I do not think it should be an option especially when people raise a huge stink about the death penalty.

Yep, too immature to decide for herself about an abortion obviously means she's ready to provide for this child when it comes out.


Wait! You're right! That makes no sense!

Yeah, um, just, yeah. Young women who want to be permanently sterilized get the same sort of deal. 'You're too young to make this sort of decision.' However, they're certainly old enough to have a kid! A kid who may grow up resented for being a burden (especially in this case where it is clear she does not want the child) and abused because of it. A kid whose mother doesn't even have the most basic of education. How the hell is she gonna pay for the thing?

And sure, she can adopt it out. Except for there's that whole, 9 months of pregnancy thing. Now, I haven't been pregnant and I really have no desire to because it pretty much screws up your body/horomones for quite a while, sometimes permanently. She'd still have to leave school for at least a portion of her pregnancy, probably missing so much that she would have to retake part of the year. And it's not like the adoption process is all smiles and roses, for either the adopting family or the one giving the child up.

In other words: this ruling is crap. Hopefully it won't leak into my state (though I'm sure it already has started leeching across the border.. Nebraska is a big fan of absorbing stupid ideas.)

Men Too. I have decided that parenthood is really not for me. My siblings have already had children and seeing the stress they are going through, I realize that it is something I really don't want. But every time I talk to a doctor about getting a vasectomy they are always like "You might change your mind in ten years." It is truly annoying.

What, every single case on abortion should only be ruled upon by a woman? If the man isn't a complete idiot like the judge in question, it wouldn't be an issue. I mean come on, we're not all stupid..well...we're not stupid all the time.

As for the issue, although I am against abortion, I think women should be able to make their own choice on the matter. Sometimes it is really necessary as in this situation. I hope she can appeal the decision.