According to National statistics found on the world wide web, over 64% of

teenage pregnancies in the United States are terminated by abortion every year.

This is a very startling statistic especially when you think about how many unborn

babies 64% is. Because of the doctor patient confidentiality law a lot of pregnant

teenagers parents power is taken away. This makes teen abortions rather

questionable.

Because of the doctor patient confidentiality law in the United States a

pregnant teenager can go to an abortion clinic and have an abortion, without

parental consent or notification. One problem with this law is that because

parents are not notified teens could be encouraged to have more unprotected

casual sex. If a teenager knows that she can go and have this procedure done

and there are not any consequences from parents then that teen will most likely

not learn a very important lesson of responsibility. Before a teenager has an

abortion parents should be notified because they need to teach their daughter

the consequences that follow having unprotected sex. Many teenage fathers

take no responsibility for a teenage girl that they impregnated. The teenage

father's parents also have a very important lesson to teach their son.

Unfortunately, some teenagers are impregnated through horrible crimes

such as rape or by incest. In cases such as this counseling should be something

that a teen mother needs to pursue with her parents. As long as parents are

involved however, this no longer deals with the patient confidentiality law in

regards to parental notification of an abortion.

Some people may argue that if teens can have an abortion without

parental consent it will be better for the unborn baby and the teen mother in the

long run. Many people also think that it will keep incidents such as a teenage

mother having her baby then killing the newborn from happening. Although this is

a rather strong argument there are many options for the teen that her parents

could help with, such as adoption. Although many times that cannot take place

because parents are not notified.

Teens need to talk about the risks and feelings surrounding abortion with

their parents. Although abortions are typically safe they are still an operation and

have risks surrounding them. Some pregnant teenagers become very depressed

and mentally unstable after having an abortion with many feelings of guilt and

shame. Having an abortion can leave a permanent emotional scar that can be

overwhelming, especially for a teenager to deal with if she is without parental

support.

In conclusion, teenage abortions without parental consent should be

illegal. This would benefit both the pregnant teenager and her unborn baby.

Although it is a hard decision to make teens need to talk to their parents about

such a life impacting issue such as killing an unborn baby through abortion.