ORIGINAL SOURCES

Should Grandma Help a Pregnant Granddaughter Deceive Her Parents?

HR 3682 Passes House - Defends Parental Consent Laws

By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, originalsources.com

July 16, 1998

Yesterday the House voted 276-150 for a bill, H.R. 3682, making it a crime for anyone who isn't the parent or legal guardian to evade parental involvement laws in a pregnant teenager's home state by taking her to a state that imposes no requirements on underage girls seeking abortions.

Sixty-seven Democrats joined two hundred and nine Republicans to vote for a bill which Sponsors said the bill would safeguard parental rights, protect the health of young girls and ensure compliance with parental consent or notification laws on the books in more than 30 states. Opponents of the bill gave impassioned speeches claiming the law interferes with the right of loving grandmothers to accompany their granddaughters across state lines so the girl's parents don't have to be told about their impending grandchild being aborted.

As a grandmother of twenty-two members of the younger generation, twelve of them granddaughters, may I suggest that whoever in the Democratic Party thought up this nutty defense needs a brain transplant.

As Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the prime sponsor, said in the debate, nearly all public schools require parental consent to give children medicine, take them on field trips or dismiss them early from class. "But when it comes to abortion, a stranger can take our daughters with no repercussions whatsoever," she said, adding that "this is simply not acceptable."

It's actually worse than not acceptable. Last year a high school girl gave her friend a Midol because she was having discomfort with her period, and was expelled from school under its "no drug" policy. Children who are required to take some prescription drug have to jump all kinds of hoops set up by the school administrators.

Yet, if it is an abortion a girl wants, why there is absolutely no limit - even though the risk of complications, some of them life-long, frequently occur. Some of those complications, which are rarely discussed with teenaged girls seeking an abortion include:

A greater risk of breast cancer: Breast cancer has increased in America by 50% since 1973. Women who have had an abortion have a significantly higher rate of breast cancer. Abortion interrupts natural changes in the breast, leaving millions of cells at high risk. So far, twenty-four studies have confirmed this relationship. Dr. George Bonney, Chairman of the Department of Biostatistics at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia reported recent surveys conducted by the center also present evidence which strongly suggests an association between abortion and breast cancer.

Dr. Ian Schenk, former Chairman of the Committee on Medical Ethics at Fairfax (Virginia) Hospital and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Georgetown suggested that abortionists should consider discussing the possible dangers of breast cancer with a mother considering abortion. Sources:

Future Physical Complications for Women Having Abortions:

* 24.3% experience complications in future pregnancies. Complications include: excessive bleeding, premature delivery, cervical damage, and sterility.
(Acta/Obstetrics and Gynecology Scandinavia 1979; 58:491-4)

* Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). A first-trimester abortion can result in bacterial vaginosis, leading to PID, a condition that must be treated quickly.
(American Journal of Obs. and Gyn. 1992; 166:100-103)

* Uterine perforations. Uterine perforations can often occur and sometimes may go unrecognized and untreated.
(Bernadell Technical Bulletin 1989; 1:1:1-2)

* Increased Risk of Breast Cancer. In addition to the aforementioned information. One source indicated a 140% increase risk following an abortion.
(British Journal of Cancer 1981; 43-72-6)

* Tubal pregnancy. Abortion appears to contribute to an increase in ectopic pregnancy in younger women when associated with pelvic inflammatory disease. Statistic show a 30% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after one abortion and a 160% increased risk after two or more abortions.
(American Journal of Obs. and Gyn. 1989; 160:642-6)
(American Journal of Public Health 1982; 72:253-6)

* Placenta previa - a condition producing extremely severe, life threatening bleeding in future pregnancies. Statistics show a 600% increased risk following abortion.
(American Journal of Obs. and Gyn. 1981; 141:769-72)

* Increased bleeding in subsequent pregnancies.
(American Journal of Obs. and Gyn. 1983; 146:136-140)

* Retention of placenta - increased in subsequent pregnancies.
(Acta/Obstetrics and Gynecology Scandinavia 1979; 58:485-490)

The Risk for Teen-agers Having an Abortion is even Greater:
Women Under 20 have:

* 2 times greater risk of medical complications
(Canadian Journal of Public Health 1982; 73:396-400)

* 150% greater risk of cervical injury
(New England Journal of Medicine 1983; 309:621-24)

Women who have had a previous abortion

* 200% increased risk of miscarriage after two or more abortions
(Journal of the American Medical Association 1980:243:2495-9)

* 160% increased risk of tubal pregnancy
(American Journal of Public Health 1982; 72:253-6)

* Increased risk of abnormal positioning of the baby in future pregnancies after one or more abortion.
(American Journal of Obs. and Gyn. 1983; 146:136-140)

Women with previous or existing PID

* Decrease in fertility following an abortion
(Acta/Obstetrics and Gyn. Scandinavia 1979; 58:539-42)

* More days of post-abortion pain and cramping
(Acta/Obstetrics and Gyn. Scandinavia 1982: 61:357-60)

* Increased risk of tubal pregnancy following an abortion
(American Journal of Public Health 1982; 72:253-6)

(Compiled by Steven Ertelt - ertelt@prolife.org)

And, those are only the PHYSICAL complications. Most women, and according to recent statistics close to 25% of American women under the age of 45 have had an abortion, - most women have emotional complications which cause them to grieve months, sometimes years, over the decision they made.

At issue in the bill passed yesterday, however, was not abortion itself. It was who should have the right to take a young girl across state lines for the express purpose of avoiding laws requiring parental permission for an abortion.

Rep. Linda Smith, R-Wash., said the bill would protect older girls from "older men who prey on them, get them pregnant and then take them to another jurisdiction for an abortion." In the current legal never-never land of abortion, a minor girl, impregnated by an older adult male who has committed rape, or at least statutory rape, not only is no longer prosecuted but is being positively ENCOURAGED to simply take the girl across state lines for an abortion.

Opponents of the bill claimed it would force teens who fear telling their parents about their pregnancies to seek "unsafe, back-alley abortions or travel out of state by themselves for abortions. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. said, "This bill tells young women who cannot tell their parents, 'Don't tell anyone else. Don't tell your grandmother. Don't tell an aunt. No one can help you. You're on your own."' Then she added, "We need to make abortion less necessary, not more dangerous and difficult."

When I heard her say that on C-Span I thought about my own granddaughters and grand nieces, and what I would do if one of them came to me and told me she was pregnant and didn't want to tell her parents. What is it that Rep. Lowey thinks is the right thing for grandmother or an aunt to do? Help the kid deceive her parents and sneak out of town with her to grandma's favorite abortionist over in the next state?

I don't think so. I think a responsible grandmother would go with the granddaughter to her parents and stand by her as she did the responsible, adult thing - own up to her mistake and try to figure out what to do next. This grandmother would strongly advise that abortion not even be considered. Why execute the innocent baby? The baby did not cause the problem. If the pregnancy was caused by a rape, I would certainly support executing the rapist, but generally speaking, most teen pregnancies are not the result of rape - except statutory rape. Usually the pregnancy is caused by consensual sex which makes it the responsibility of those participating - not Mom or Dad, not Grandmother or Aunt Susie.

I would give the mother-to-be the facts - including the ones listed above, and encourage her to not compound her problem by adding abortion to it and to not further damage her family relationships by defying her parents. However, anyone old enough to have sex is old enough to be held accountable for its results. I have known girls who, by making good decisions in a bad situation, have grown up and either cared for their child or have given him or her up for adoption and continued with their education, or have married the father of the child and worked to build a real family. It is never easy, but it is by far the best solution for everyone - but especially for the unborn child.

The role of older family members, including grandmothers, in the time of trauma for the family is not to make matters worse by creating permanent deception, but to help a younger member of the family grow up and face reality. Contrary to what young people see on TV and hear in much of the music and movies of the day, the purpose of sex is not endless entertainment and fun. It's prime purpose is producing a new generation which needs love and care, not annihilation. Kids who grow up on farms usually learn that early in life. And it is love, commitment and sacrifice for that new generation that makes life worth living and which brings the greatest joy and happiness.

Of course, some charged the Republicans with "playing politics with the emotionally charged issue." Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said, "This piece of legislation doesn't concern strengthening families. It concerns advancing an agenda of the most fanatical people."

Apparently Rep. Doggett thinks families are strengthened by having Grandma assist in covering up and lying about an unborn family member - and then assisting in killing it.

It all makes me wonder what on earth goes on in the "families" of people like Rep. Doggett and Rep. Lowey.

To comment: mmostert@waveshift.com