Take Action - Talking Points
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NARAL P.O. Box 279 |
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Talking Points:
Please use these talking points to help us ensure reproductive health access for all Montanans, including Montana's teens. Rather than making abortion more difficult and dangerous, government should make abortion among teenagers less necessary by increasing access to sex education and confidential family planning services.
A young woman is better positioned than the government to decide who should be involved when she faces an unwanted pregnancy. The government cannot create health family communication where it does not exist
Most young women find love, support, and safety in the home. Many, however, justifiably fear that they would be physically or emotionally abused if forced to disclose their pregnancy.
Nearly one-half of pregnant teens who have a history of abuse report being assaulted during their pregnancy, most often by a family member. As the Supreme Court recognized, “Mere notification of pregnancy is frequently a flashpoint for battering and violence within the family. The number of battering incidents is high during the pregnancy and often the worst abuse can be associated with pregnancy.”
Parental consent and notice laws endanger young women's health by forcing some women, even those from healthy, loving families, to turn to illegal or self-induced abortion, to delay the procedure to the point that it becomes riskier, or to bear a child against their will.
For young women, obtaining a court order can be overwhelming and impossible.
Many fear that the proceedings will compromise their confidentiality and are wary to reveal intimate details of their personal lives to strangers.
Some young women who manage to arrange a hearing face judges who are vehemently anti-choice and who routinely deny petitions, despite rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court that a minor must be granted a bypass if she is mature or if an abortion is in her best interests.
Abortion among teens should be made less necessary, not more difficult and dangerous. Helping Montana teens to avoid unplanned pregnancy should include efforts such as:
- Age-appropriate health and sex education with medically accurate information;
- Access to confidential health services, including family planning and abortion;
- Life options programs that offer teens practical life skills and the motivation to delay sexually activity; and
- Programs for pregnant and parenting teens that teach parenting skills and help ensure that teens finish school.
The wisest policy gives teens the tools they need to avoid pregnancy and forsakes misguided efforts to insert the government into delicate family situations.
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