A 15-year-old receives a completely legal abortion and her pro-life mother is livid. Plus, who needs a date for the prom?

Teenage pregnancy is never an easy topic to discuss. We always hope parents can talk to their kids about waiting to have sex, and about taking the proper precautions if they do not. And, should the worst happen and they find themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy, we hope that they feel they can talk to their parents about what is the best option going forward.

We also recognize that although those things happen in a perfect scenario, you often find situations where they don’t.

A 15-year-old girl in an affluent suburb of Seattle found herself facing an unplanned pregnancy, and chose to terminate that pregnancy without speaking to her mother about her choice. Her mother has taken the opportunity to take her anger out on both the school that facilitated the abortion and the clinic that performed it, regardless of the fact that her mother gave them permission to do both.

The mother of a Ballard High School student is fuming after the health center on campus helped facilitate her daughter’s abortion during school hours. Sex. Abortion. Parenthood. Power. The latest news, delivered straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE The mother, whom KOMO News has chosen to identify only as “Jill,” says the clinic kept the information “confidential.” When she signed a consent form, Jill figured it meant her 15-year-old could go to the Ballard Teen Health Center located inside the high school for an earache, a sports physical, even birth control, but not for help terminating a pregnancy. “She took a pregnancy test at school at the teen health center,” she said. “Nowhere in this paperwork does it mention abortion or facilitating abortion.”

The representative from the program points out that the mother signed a form stating her daughter could independentantly consent to a wide variety of medical assistance.

“The form describes what the parent is consenting to, but also illustrates what a youth may independently consent to,” T.J. Cosgrove, King County Public Health Department Manager for School Based Programs, told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross Wednesday. Cosgrove read the consent form to Ross: “Youth may independently access reproductive health care at any age. They may independently receive drug and alcohol services and mental health counseling from age 13.”

Because Washington state does not have a parental consent or notification law, the teenage girl would have been completely able to walk into any reproductive health center and request an abortion on her own, without notifying her parents, should she have chosen not to access one through the school.

The mother, who didn’t find out until later when her daughter had an unrelated health issue that she had earlier had an abortion, claims both that her daughter is pro-life, and that her daughter was told she must “conceal it from her family” in order to not have to pay for the procedure.

The incident, “Makes me feel like my rights were completely stripped away,” [the girl’s mother] said.

Of course, forcing the daughter to have to get parental permission, or possibly even be talked into carrying to term because that is what her family would prefer, would be stripping her rights away instead.

Bonus Quote: In regards to Rep. Bart Stupak no longer getting a “defender of life” award from the Susan B. Anthony Candidate List Fund, and no one else being selected as a replacement:

“The sensibility was — you invite the prom date and then they dump you at the last minute. And then you call somebody else at the last minute and say, hey, do you want to go with me?”

March 24, 2010

Obama Signs Executive Order on Abortion Today – ABC News

Abortion looms as election issue after US reforms – Reuters

The Political Fallout – America Magazine

BUYBC: Time to Close the Gap on EC Access – Huffington Post

Health-Care Postmortem – National Catholic Register

The Early Word: Nukes, Banks, Abortion – New York Times

Kelly McParland: Michael Ignatieff’s abortion fixation – National Post

Neugebauer follows apology for outburst with ad – The Associated Press

Away from the Cameras, President Obama to Sign Executive Order on Abortion – ABC News

Covert Operation – ChristianityToday.com

Obama signs executive order on abortion – NEWS.com.au

Health Department: Student’s abortion outlined in consent form – MyNorthwest.com

ObamaCare Passed But Passed Up Reproductive Justice – SheWired

Obama to sign executive order on abortion out of sight of media glare – Washington Post

David Akin: Liberals rue abortion debacle – National Post

Bart Stupak Left Threatening Messages for Health Care Vote (Listen) – CBS News

Obama signs order affirming law on abortion – The Associated Press

Photo worth 1000 wds, blackout tells all – The Swamp

Erbe: Neugebauer’s nastiness on display – Scripps News

Gee, Thanks Bart Stupak, for that BOGUS Executive Order – Christian News Wire

Obama quietly signs executive order affirming federal ban on abortion funding – Los Angeles Times

Mother Upset Seattle School Arranged her Daughter’s Abortion Without Knowing – LifeNews.com

Catholics greet health care reform with regret, enthusiasm – The Catholic Transcript

Rep. Henry Cuellar calls Obama abortion order reassuring – Dallas Morning News

School Abortion – FOXNews

Christians and Health Care Reform: No Baby Killers Here – Huffington Post

Abortion, immigration issues collide in Nebraska – The Associated Press

Without Stupak, Anti-Abortion Group’s Dinner Goes On – New York Times

In defense of Bart Stupak – Washington Post

Obama signs abortion order into Health Care Reform Bill to continue no federal … – Examiner.com

Reproductive justice takes a hit in Obamacare – Bay Windows

Stupak receives threats – UpperMichigansSource.com

Immigration foes, abortion opponents clash in Neb. – AZ Central.com

Neugebauer Vows to Continue Speaking Out Against Abortion – NewsWest9.com

Both sides of abortion issue quick to dismiss order – USA Today

NJ gov’s budget hits Planned Parenthood – Town Hall

Liberals in turmoil after defeating own motion on overseas abortion, contraception – Winnipeg Free Press

Upside-down family planning in Maryland – Baltimore Sun

Guyana launches national HIV prevention principles, standards and guidelines – UNAIDS

The do-it-all Doula – Airdrie Echo





March 25, 2010

SC Lawmakers Advance Abortion Bill – CBS News

School Clinic Sets Up Secret Abortion For Underage Student – IndyPosted (blog)

‘Baby killer’ outburst fuels Republican’s new funding ad – Houston Chronicle

Obama has angered women’s groups by reaffirming no federal funds for abortion – Washington Post

Obama issues low-key order on abortions – The Associated Press

Abortion Lobby Agrees: Obama Executive Order Is a “Symbolic” Fig Leaf – The New American

Anti-abortion group will not back Rahall, Mollohan – Daily Mail – Charleston

Obama signs an executive order on abortion policy – The Detroit News

Pro-choice is an ideology, too – Ottawa Citizen

“They are willing to trivialize the abortion issue” – California Catholic Daily

Obama issues order to fortify abortion limits – NWAOnline

Health care subtractions denies women rights over their bodies – The BG News

Family planning folly – Baltimore Sun

Dallas Researchers Fighting To Find HIV Vaccine – CBS 11

HIV prevention effort shifts to ‘status awareness’ – Bay Area Reporter

Catholic HIV stance causes uproar – New Era

Young, African American Women Talk about HIV/AIDS – Washington Informer

China’s New Requirement for Women in Space: Married with Children – TIME

Push to restore prenatal services fails – Omaha World-Herald