Either She Can Or She Can’t

Once again the debate over abortion and a “woman’s” right to choose is in the news. This time in the State of Florida where a person’s right to choose seems to be a hotbed these days. Only weeks after deciding that Terri Schiavo had the right to choose to die (she had the right, not the ability) the courts in Florida have decided that a 13 year old girl has the right to choose to have an abortion.

The child, ifentified only as L.G. is a ward of the state because her parents lost their right to her. She ran away from the state licensed group home and became pregnant. The Department of Children and Families petitioned the court to block the abortion but the court upheld this child’s right to do so. Of course, civil liberties groups are involved and there are a number of players chiming in on this girl’s rights. Here are a few of the quotes from the article:

The case stirred concerns among civil libertarians who argued the child had a constitutional right to decide to have an abortion under state law and condemned the Florida government’s attempts to interfere in personal rights.

“You’ve got to be blind not to see a pattern here,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “The pattern is the state’s hostility to the exercise of personal freedom … when that personal freedom is not consistent with the prevailing ideology of the state government.”

“The constitutional right belongs to the child, and it belongs to the child even if the parents object,” said Mary Coombs, a family law professor at the University of Miami. “In this case, DCF didn’t have any more right than the parents.”

In the abortion case, Palm Beach County Judge Ronald Alvarez, who temporarily blocked the abortion last week, ruled on Monday that the girl could have the procedure over the objections of the DCF, her guardian.

It would seem that the courts and all the other players have determined that this girl is mature enough to decide to get an abortion and that she has a Constitutional right to do so. She should not have her pesky guardian telling her no despite the fact that her guardian, the DCF, thinks she is not mature enough and the state statute reads: “In no case shall the department consent to sterilization, abortion or termination of life support.”

So now we have a 13 year old mature enough to make a decision about an abortion. But wait. Here is something interesting from Florida State law:

Under Florida law, a 13-year-old cannot consent to sex, making her pregnancy the result of a statutory rape.

Could someone out there please explain to me how a 13 year old girl is not old enough or mature enough to consent to sex but she is old enough and mature enough to consent to an abortion. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. How is it that this girl magically possesses the intelligence to make an informed decision regarding a medical procedure on her but she does not possess the intelligence to consent to having a sexual relationship? It seems to me that you need a bit more upstairs to consent to the medical procedure than you do to spread your legs. If something bad happens during the procedure will the girl bear the burden or will the State be sued because she was not really able to make such a hard decision?

I think we need to reexamine this whole Constitutional right for children thing. My children only had the rights that I gave them when they were growing up. There was no right to free speech. If I told them to be quiet, they were quiet. There was no right to choose. If they wanted junk to eat and I did not want them to have it then they did not get it. My children knew that there would be consequences for any action that went counter to what they were told by my wife and me regardless of what their “Constitutional” rights were. If the Constitution applies to children why are there laws that prohibit children from buying and owning guns? I believe that this whole idea of children having Constitutional rights is a ploy to allow things like abortion on demand and to take away the rights of parents and guardians. I am sure glad that these civil liberty groups did not try to interfere with me raising my kids. Actually, they are probably glad they did not try!

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One Response to “Either She Can Or She Can’t”

  1. Surfside says:

    It’s not just owning guns. They are considered children unable to have the maturity to drink alcoholic beverages responsibly. They are not allowed to drive under the age of 16 (in most states) as they are assumed not to have the maturity to handle this privilege and responsibility. They are not allowed to make decisions regarding whether or not they attend school until after the age of 16.

    Apparently, abortion is the only place where a child can make a decision. Pretty amazing!