Abortions under 16 - should parents be informed?

[chance]

i think they should be,if my daughter got pregnant under the age of 16 i would like to be given the chance to discuss it with her and make sure she knows if she is making the right decision or not

[Angeltigger]

Yeah i think parents should know

[Luna]

i think it really depends on the circumstances at home some parents would, like you, want the chance to talk it through with their daughter and make sure they are doing it for all the right reasons. But others would go off their head.

I know of a girl who actually went to the police station and asked a police officer to come with her to tell her parents that she was pregnant she was so scared of the way they would react. And trust me the police officer was needed!!!

[chance]

i think it really depends on the circumstances at home some parents would, like you, want the chance to talk it through with their daughter and make sure they are doing it for all the right reasons. But others would go off their head.

I know of a girl who actually went to the police station and asked a police officer to come with her to tell her parents that she was pregnant she was so scared of the way they would react. And trust me the police officer was needed!!!

i'd like to think and know i would be ok with it,not pleased of course but i would understand,i couldnt really go off on one as i got pregnant at 16.

[Angeltigger]

Yeah i understand that- as you never know wheather or not the teenage wanted to get prengent but than they change their mind or if they never wanted to have the baby but they had got on- as most parents would go mad as it the way that the parents were teached when they were little

[chance]

my parents wernt too bad,it could have been alot worse,i got told that abortion was best etc.im one of the lucky ones,im still with the dad now but it doesnt often end up that way and i was legal at 16 where as the question was 'under 16'.i you shout at the person they arent going to do what you want anyway,if it were me id rebel.

[Luna]

i know for a fact that if i came home and told my parents that i was pregnant at 16 or under i would have had the hell beaten out of me. It would also have been worse if i had had an abortion at that age and never said anything only for a doctor to tell them.

In my family ive seen too many people put out of the family because they have got pregnant out of wedlock. I dont agree with it but its just the way my family is.

[Debs]

i think parents should be told, some girls may just think it the best option as they think there parents might go mad and make them! id like to think id be shocked but ok with it!

[twinkle_eyes83]

i think they should be told

[JustJodi]

I think this is a very sensitive issue...but a girl under 16..no matter how "MATURE" she appears.. is still a frightened little girl ..I can understand where the girl may be afraid to approach her parents and the reaction she might get,, but still ABORTION is a major decison that will affect the girl for the rest of her life mentally and physically...:searchme:

[Trinity]

I have two boys, but if I had a daughter then I would, like Chance, want to have the opportunity to discuss the situation and make sure that my daughter was making an informed decision.

I would hope that any child of mine would be able to come and talk to me about anything.

Unfortunately, like Luna says, some children hide things from their parents with good reason.

It is hard to know what is the best, because it might be good for you and your child but in another family it could result in tragedy.

I think that the health professionals should try to convince the child to tell their parents, but at the end of the day most children have a better handle on how their parents would react in a given circumstance than a health professional who doesn't know them.

it is a hard one.

[Jojo]

I would say yes, as as a parent, I would hope that my children can talk to me about anything, but there are some, as previously said, that really cannot tell their parents, in which case health care officials need to make sure the child gets all of the information, counselling and support that she needs.

[lollymay]

i wouldnt be able to have an abortion without telling my mum

[Angeltigger]

i know what you are all saying, with me i think it is fair for parents to know what is going on with their child life

[.:SpIcYsPy:.]

I think no.. don't know why though!!

[chance]

I think no.. don't know why though!!

i think you think no as being a teenager yourself if it happened to you,you prob think your old and mature enough to make your own decisions and it has nothing to do with your parents - i know thats prob how id of felt if i was under 16 but i apologise if ive got it wrong.i think once you become a parent yourself you change your view of these things

[.:SpIcYsPy:.]

i think you think no as being a teenager yourself if it happened to you,you prob think your old and mature enough to make your own decisions and it has nothing to do with your parents - i know thats prob how id of felt if i was under 16 but i apologise if ive got it wrong.i think once you become a parent yourself you change your view of these things
No it's not in that was more towards the keep it a secret incase they blow type thing lol...

I was thinking about the parent yourself thing and was thinking if I'd have a different view and I thought yeah I probably would think differently!!

[Chloe O'brien]

i would be heartbroken if i found out that my under age daughter had an abortion without tellling me. Although i can understand why some girls are scared to tell their parents. If i was faced with that situation i would like to think that my daughter could tell me anything and i would support her whatever her decision was

[CrazyLea]

if i had got pregnant under 16 and wanted an abortion (not saying i woulod have or anything) but if i did i wouldnt have wanted my mum to know i was gunna have an abortion. so i think parents shouldnt be informed.

[Tori]

i said no because it's the fault of the girl for getting pregnant, and she shouldn't have to tell her parents because it'll be on her conscience for the rest of her life, and nobody will have to hear about it. however, i still think abortion is wrong

[Cornishbabe]

I think they shouldnt be told. If the girl is 15 and mature then what difference does a few months make. Telling the parents could make the girtl keep it. which if she didi not want it would just be wrong. Having a unwanted baby

[Cornishbabe]

Some girls dont have mothers. And live with just there dad. It would be very hard for them to talk about with there father

[Layne]

I think that parents should be informed,
I mean if i were to become pregnant before i turned 16, then i don't know what i'd do (i don't really agree with abortions, well i do it confusing anyway....) but i would tell my mum, i mean they might have a go or whatever, but i'd like to think that its soething that i could tell them.
And if i were a parent i'd love for my kids to tell me everything.

[xStephaniex]

i think it depends on the girl and the mother !!! or parents !!! because its not against the law to abort under 16, but i think it would be better for parents to know as it would be easier for you. becuase they would find out sooner or later.

[myra129]

I think no because if my daughter got pregnant and couldnt tell me for whatever reason and she really didnt want to keep the baby she would still have someone to turn to, and i'd rather that than her hide it till it was too late.

At the same time i'd rather know if she was going to make such a huge decision without my guidance..... Its a tough one.

[pookie1968uk]

yes, a child should not be able to make these kind of decisions without parents knowing.

[Katy]

i thinits a tough one because yes parents have a right to know but on the other hand its the teenagers decision and if they feel abortion is the only option then thats what they should do.

[xXxJessxXx]

I think this is a hard one. I think a lot of it depends on the situation and the relationship you have with your parents. I think if it were me id be able to talk to my mum about it and she'd be ok with it (to an extent obviously, she would be mad but resonable)

However others dont. I know if i didnt have such a strong relationship or if i werent as outgoing as i am i wouldnt want them to find out. But if i had a duaghter in that situation i would certainly want to know about it to help her.

But considering all this i think if a person is going to have an abortion(or not) then it needs to be her decision and no one esle. i think if she were to tell her mother (in some cases) it could lead to the wrong thing being done about the whole thing. I know mums mean well but sometimes they interfere. Some young girls dont fully understand all the facts and what they will have to go through physicaly and mentally but involving a mother means putting her opion across and that is sometimes not needed beacsue then outcome that the girl wants is not what really happends. I think girls should be able to decide them selves, after all mothers have been through it all before and its now up to them if they should tell. I beleive if the mother brought the child up in a way where trust is a huge thing then the daughter would tell her mother anyway, out of choice, if no trust is in the relationship then the daughter wouldnt want to tell her.

[shannisrules]

i have two opinions on this they should be told because they have a right to know but also if teenagers knew there parents would be told then they might not want to go to the doctors for a prgnany test etc. so there would be a lot more unsafe pregnancys and stuff if you get what i mean

[Em]

I dont think parents should be told unless the the person wants them to be.

Its a very personal thing, and these days most 14/15 year olds are quite mature anyway. However if they are younger than 13, obviously the parent should be told.

The issue here isnt as much telling the parents about the abortion, its whether someone under 16 has the right to a confidential relationship with their doctor. If yes, there is no way a parent can be told. If no, then it opens a whole new can of worms. Should a mentally disabled person, who is over 16 but with a younger mental age, then be in the same position? Where would it end?

[samantha nixon]

i dont no whether they should be or not but i no if i got pregnant then i would be able to talk to my mum about it and id do the best thing which would be to keep the baby as if the child is old enough and mature enough to have sex then they are older enough to have the consequences, as after all a baby is still a living thing and its not the baby's fault who its mother is

[leanne27]

i dont think the parents should have to be told, the girl should have the right to choose whether she wants her parents to be told, they could help her make the right decision but they also could force or pressure her into doing something that ultimately should be decided by her.

[pops110874]

I voted yes but i do think that every situation is different.

[squillyfer]

I dont kow if parents should know or not. On one hand I think that it would be better for the parents to know and to talk to their daughter about how and why this happened and discuss the options rationally after all abortion can have all kinds of emotional and mental effects on a person. On the other hand parents might get pushy and try to sway the mother one way or another regarding terminating the pregnancy and knowing that their parents would find out would probably stop lots of people going to their doctor and they might take matters into their own hands. At the end of the day if I had a daughter I'd hope she trusted me enough to tell me in the first place.

[Katy]

eveyone has different opinions on subjects like abortion. I think each situation is different.

[nicole28]

I think parents definetly should be informed! You would feel very guilty!