Letters to the Editor
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Recipe for murder
I understand why parents want the notification, but I'm not certain how many of them truly remember being teenagers.
It's a time of fear for so many kids. Fear of not fitting in, not finding/keeping a romantic partner, grades and the future, but, most of all, fear of parents.
So many people think teenagers exaggerate when they say "my folks would kill me..." but not all are exaggerated.
There are people for whom an unwed teenaged daughter would be a breaking point. And that's not even considering the people who have sexually abused their children and might deliberately harm them to keep the circumstances of the pregnancy from getting out.
I also worry about a potential rise in successful suicides for girls who think they may be pregnant.
My biggest fear if 85 is passed are that some girls who get pregnant deciding -- with or without their partner -- to hide the pregnancy and, possibly, kill the child.
We'd all like to think that parents would step up to the plate and be there for their kids. I've known parents who have -- they helped their daughter graduate with her high school senior class even though she gave birth during her junior year. But I've seen more girls who've been slapped, punched, or disowned when the parents discovered they were pregnant.
They need to be protected. I voted against 85 today.