It depends on your age; and I also believe there is a law on the books or trying to get on the books in california that would make it mandatory for an under-aged girl's parents to be informed of the abortion. It depends on your state i'm afraid.

Oh that's good news!

Kids tell their parents what to do now anyway and when to do it, heck, you cannot even spank or punish your children anymore and it is sooooo sad! Why should abortion be any different. We all wanted to be adults growing up, now they are, they even carry negative things around with them and are tried as adults. I am so glad that I have raised mine! This system is horrible!

Well, I do think it's bad that almost all power has been taken from parents. I actually think that law should be more definitive. If the girl is under 16 and wants an abortion, her parents should be informed. But 16 and over, they don't need to be told anything.

My parents spanked me, only once or twice my entire childhood and believe me, that was enough to scare me into behaving!! I don't see spanking as a bad thing, as long as it's not done excessively. If it works, and the kid still respects .A.N.D loves you, then do it.

I don't approved of using belts (or other objects) to spank, or smacking kids upside the head or anywhere else.

I agree .Eiri, their is a difference between spanking and abuse as my step-mother was an alcy and she did not give a caca sometimes when she was drunk, yep, been there but we only threw(sp) one tantrum in a store, when we were young because we did not get something we wanted.

I think that's it's usually better if a girl's parents know... I know it's probably the hardest thing to do (telling them), but it helps them make an informative decision and find a good clinic out there to perform the operation, instead of just picking one of a phonebook.

I know everyone has different parents though and some aren't as supportive and understanding as others...

I agree ashlee_veronica as their are times that young girls can get an infection and can bleed out as their are some parents that do care and do understand aand yet it can be a difficult thing at times to tell your parents that you are going to have an abortion. Hopefully this will open up some parents and daughters relationships, I know that I would want my daughter to tell me so that I could be their for her this is part of the reason that I am pro-choice because I do understand and I would want my daughter to understand this as well, just like if she chose to keep it but we are not talking about that right now. Their are not a lot of parents that feel the other way or the daughter.

Exactly... And it's so sad that so many girls go through traumatic experiences from getting an abortion all because they are so uneducated and uninformed about what decisions to make.

their doctor should provide unbiased options counseling. If the doctor makes value statements or does not provide all information about every option, there are counselors available at your local planned parenthood who are trained to give non-biased, supportive counseling for each person. Most of these counselors are also trained and qualified to set up open and closed adoptions in the area if the .Woman desires one.

Every .Woman, whether she is a teenager or 46 years old or beyond, should be given .All information about every option available to her from someone who is not promoting an agenda one way or another. My current doctor refuses to set up referrals or even talk about abortion during office visits. He is a bad doctor who is operating under an agenda to make his obstetric practice grow because he gets much, much more money for each pregnancy to birth than he does if the .Woman decides to obtain an abortion.

As for the "traumatic experiences" that .Women face with abortion, they are the exception rather than the rule according to both the .American .Psychological .Association and the .Allan .Guttmacher .Institutes studies on the subject. The vast majority of .Women, young or otherwise, who obtain an abortion do not report any psychological trauma associated with the abortion. For .Women dealing with an unintended pregnancy, the unplanned pregnancy is the cause for psychological stress, not the abortion. Once a decision has been made, whether it is an abortion or not, the .Woman has successfully coped with the stressful situation (the unplanned pregnancy) and the abortion/miscarriage/birth is seen as the resolution of the decision.

The apa's website here has much more information on this topic.
Peace,
jenn