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Ricks Mensah
Instructor Connie Douglas
English 112-78
18 September 2014
Parental Consent
The legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court in the USA brought new challenges to
the nation regarding this subject. One of the issues was the management of pregnant minors
desiring to have an abortion. Many minors were getting pregnant and having legal abortions
without parents/legal guardians knowledge.
This practice became controversial over time. Parents/legal guardians and the public
began to ask questions. Is it justifiable for a minor to undergo a surgical procedure like an
abortion without their parents/legal guardians knowledge? Is it the right of parents/legal
guardians to be aware of any surgical procedure performed on their minor child? In 1992, the
parental consent law was added to the right to legal abortion law. Since the parental consent
provision was added to the right to legal abortion law, it has been an issue of controversy.
This legislation prohibits a person from performing an abortion on a minor without first
obtaining the written consent of the minor and one of the parents or legal guardian of the minor.
If a parent or legal guardian is not available or refuses to give his/her consent, or if the minor
elects not to seek consent of a parent or legal guardian, the minor may petition the probate court.
A minor may file a petition for waiver of parental consent in the probate court of the county in
which the minor resides. Right to life of Michigan.
The two articles from the database Opposing Viewpoints, present opposing views on
this law. One author, Mr. Michael New, thinks the law is necessary while the other, Miss Diana

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Philip, consider the law completely unnecessary. The author in support of the law cites parental
rights and the welfare of the minor as the argument that justifies the need for the law. The author
cites religious and safety reasons as well.
Both authors have similar justification, but view the issue from different perspectives. In
the article Parental Consent Laws are Necessary, Michael New, the author talks about the
benefits of parental consent laws. The article attributes the significant drop in the rate of teen
abortion to the involvement of parents in the decision making process through the parental
consent law.
The article explains that the law honors the rights of parents because parent can stop
their minor daughters from undergoing an abortion if they think that it is the right thing to do.
There are thirty-four states that require some form of parental involvement in a minors decision
to have an abortion.
The laws are intended to foster parent-child relationships, protect the rights of parents
and deter young women from obtaining abortion or becoming pregnant in the first place, but
research cast doubt on whether the laws have their intended effects. Abortion: parental
Consent. Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014 Opposing Viewpoints in
context. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.
Miss Diana Philips argues that laws requiring parental involvement in a minors decision
to have an abortion are detrimental to the welfare of the young woman. Parental consent laws
are unnecessary. The article argued that such laws force minors who are not ready for the
financial and emotional responsibility of parenthood to forfeit the right to decide whether to
carry through with an unplanned pregnancy.

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The author contents that this is a challenge to womens reproductive rights and a form of
punishment inflicted on a minor who may not agree with her parents view on abortion. The
example the article presents is how some parents physically abused, abandoned, or disowned
their daughters when they found out that they are pregnant. A family that is unable to
communicate due to a significant degree of dysfunction, separation, or abuse is unlikely to
respond appropriately during such an important life decision.
Recognizing the facts that have been stated above by the various authors in defense of
their positions, it is important to realize that parents are the first line of defense for their minor
children. It has been researched and proven that parents are the best providers of care and
protection for their minors as indicated in the first article. Parental consent may not promote
parent-child communication, but the health and safety of minors. There are provisions in the law
for periods when parental consent cannot be obtained as indicated above.

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Works Cited:
New, Michael. Parental Consent Laws Are Necessary. Abortion. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff.
San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From Study Shows
Parental Involvement Laws Reduce Abortion 19-31 Percent. LifeNews.com 2008.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.

Philip, Diana. parental Consent Laws Are Unnecessary. Abortion. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff.
San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From Legal Child
Abuse: The Harm of Parental involvement Laws. Center For American Progress,
2005. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 sept. 2014.