Reply #67: But giving you that as a 'right' will hurt other girls [View All]

It's good that good parents know whether their daughters have been, or are, pregnant; they can do something useful with that situation. But taking a girl away from her home (which may include one parent who will be reasonable with her, and siblings who either she needs, or who need her) in preference to keeping a confidence from a parent just isn't worth it. Yes, any situation with a girl under 16 getting pregnant has had something go wrong; but the solution of understanding parents isn't always available. Sometimes keeping quiet really is the best option for the girl. If you knew someone married had had an affair, would you automatically tell their spouse?

I know you're not advocating giving the parent(s) any say in the decision of abortion or having the baby; but that means you are advocating having the doctor write to the parents, or call them in, to say "I just gave your daughter an abortion, but she was unwilling to tell you about it". Do you really think that will improve matters?