While abortion itself is a hotly debated topic, it is a legal medical procedure that was established by Supreme Court precedent in 1973. Parental consent and notification for minors are two other aspects of this topic that have recently received national attention.

Last month in California, there was a proposition on the ballot for a constitutional amendment that would require doctors to notify their patients’ parents before performing the procedure, if the patient is a minor. The amendment failed, with 47 percent of voters supporting it.

A 2003 New Hampshire law requiring a 48-hour parental notification before the abortion is performed will be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court. The concern that opponents have with notification is that an abortion may be necessary to save the life of the mother in some instances and that waiting 48 hours could endanger the young woman’s life.

In Ed Board’s opinion, parental consent and parental notification are two separate issues. Consent means a requirement that one or both parents sign off to allow the doctor to perform the procedure. Notifying one or both parents that the procedure will be performed does not mean that an underage girl must have her parents’ approval to have the procedure.

Consent seems to deal more with a concern behind the medical aspect of abortion. States that decide these laws are necessary believe that young women are not mature enough to make a decision about a medical procedure.

If parental permission is not in question, then Ed Board feels it is a personal decision whether a minor decides to notify her parents of her choice to have an abortion. Requiring parental notification seems to compromise the privacy and sensitive nature of such a decision. A young woman’s decision not to include her parents in the decision making process may have to do with family dynamics and her knowledge of her parents’ views on the controversial procedure. Notification laws may even subvert her decision. Two days is a sufficient period of time for a parent to try and alter a daughter’s choice, or even try to physically prevent her from going to the clinic.

While Ed Board would hope that young women feel comfortable voluntarily informing their parents of their decision to have an abortion, we feel that it is not right for legislators to require it.