Letters to the Editor
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They're having more oral sex because it's no longer 'bad' for a girl to do it
Bill Clinton, hummers, Girls Gone Wild - all have denastified the blow job, so that a 'good' girl can now give one, and get her whiny high-pressure no-responsibility boyfriend off her back about intercourse. It has nothing to do with parental notification laws. For Christ's sweet sake, how can anyone draw that conclusion having been a teenager themselves? Thoughts of long-term consequences do not rule in those moments - the only consequences a girl thinks about are: her reputation, her reputation, her reputation, getting caught, getting caught, getting caught...and then, distantly, pregnancy and STDs.
Abortion is not like any other surgery. It's voluntary and personal. As much as a parent feels he/she has a right to know everything that goes on with their kids, and as much as they'd like to control and be part of every experience, they can't and should not. if a daughter does not want to involve her parents in the decision to get an abortion, that is as much her right as not getting them involved in the decision to engage in sex.
Children are not the chattel of their parents. They may make stupid decisions with regard to sex - lack of experience, immaturity, and hormones almost guarantee this, which is why it is incumbent on parents to provide detailed, judgement free sex education.
I'm sure Ms. So would hate it that her daughter had sex and then got pregnant and then an abortion without involving her. Ms. So needs to realize - the daughter's experiences are not about her. All she can do is reiterate - and *demonstrate* - that she would be suppotive and not condeming of any of her daughters decisions.
I vividly remember being a teenager terrified of getting pregnant. It didn't stop me from having unprotected sex, though. And I would have never involved my parents had i had an abortion - they would have supported me, sure. I'm their daughter. But htey would have also condemned what I did, sat in judgement on me, and had their own emotional meltdown about it all. I would have excluded them just to prevent having to face their disappointment in me. But of course I'd be disappointed! parents think. Well, girls know this. They don't want to deal with YOUR feelings on the subject - the situation is already difficult enough.