CHOICE?/Teen's abortion prompts lawsuit /cincynews.com

[Thiebear]

How a clinic doesn't report the coach about a rape to the parents is:

UNFORGIVABLE!

Pleading ignorance does't work for the individual: It shouldn't work for an organization steeped in the knowledge of abortions/state laws...

[BlueTalon]

Since my use of a particular word has become a topic of its own and thereby served to distract from the main topic of the thread, allow me to retract it (and offer an apology to those who may have been offended). There was a bit of interesting speculation as to what I meant or why I used it, so I'd like to at least try to explain that a bit.

DCRunner said: "I was 15 many, many moons ago and the thought that my poor 18 year old boyfriend could have gone to jail for some ridiculous time for consensual (and quite great) sex is the real crime. And believe me when I say it was completely consensual and I was perfectly capable of making the decision to have sex or not." She also said: "Adolescents are allowed to make medical decisions for themselves all the time - and as young as 12 - maybe younger if the person is determined mature enough." She continually makes the case that sex involving young children (as young as 12, maybe younger?) is OK as long as it's consensual. She even claimed that a 14-year-old is not a child. This demonstrates a rather extreme perspective. Her view is that children can be mature enough to make decisions about sex and medical matters. I think her view is shaped by her own experience, and is in fact a justification for it. Note that instead of saying something like "I was young and dumb and had sex and it was stupid but it was also quite fun", she claimed that she was as capable as any adult to be able to make the decision -- and claims the same thing for girls "as young as 12 - maybe younger if the person is determined mature enough." The fact that she still believes this at the age of 48 is telling. She has little to no respect for the legal authority and responsibility parents have to raise their children, when it potentially restricts sex or abortions. She has no regard for parental notification laws, if in some cases it slows down access to an abortion. She considers abortion to be a safe procedure that probably doesn't even need a physician to perform.

This all tells me two basic things. She is committed to on-demand abortion as a philosophy, and she is committed to free sex (even/especially for children). No rational argument is likely to ever sway her in any way.

I'd like to know if she thinks a "mature" 12-year-old should be able to buy a gun or drive a car or serve in the military, or if abortions and sex the main/only things about which 12-year-old maturity should trump law.