Pro-choice advocacy groups claim Michigan’s parental consent for abortion law 'hurts young people'
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Pro-choice advocacy groups in Michigan want to repeal parental consent to obtain an abortion via a new report.
Since 1993, Michigan law stipulates that citizens under 18 years old must have parental consent for an abortion. Otherwise, minors are allowed to petition for an abortion in court to waive the requirement.
"This law is actually of no benefit to the vast majority of young people who do involve their parent in the decision. And for the small number who can't, it can be deeply, deeply harmful," Jo Becker, who serves as advocacy director for the children's rights division at Human Rights Watch, told the Detroit Free Press.
A report was released by the collaboration between the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU of Michigan), Human Rights Watch, and the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH) to "examine the harmful consequences of Michigan’s forced parental consent law."
A report was released by the collaboration between the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU of Michigan), Human Rights Watch, and the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH) to "examine the harmful consequences of Michigan’s forced parental consent law." (KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images)
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The report, titled "In Harm’s Way: How Michigan’s forced parental consent for abortion law hurts young people," urges lawmakers to take action.
Per the report, it was compiled from in-depth interviews with 22 Michigan experts, including judicial bypass attorneys, healthcare providers, and reproductive justice advocates, "as well as analysis of data from the state and a review of secondary sources."
"... The report finds that Michigan’s forced parental consent law undermines the safety, health, and dignity of young people seeking abortion care in Michigan, whether they obtain parental consent or go through judicial bypass, and regardless of whether their request for a judicial waiver is granted or denied."
Among the 22 interviews they conducted, Dr. Sarah Wallett of Planned Parenthood doubled down on the notion that mandating parental involvement is unnecessary.
"I’m always impressed by the maturity of young people who figure out how to make an appointment for themselves in the first place, how to get there, what they need to do, how to have money for the procedure," Wallett said.
The Michigan Capitol is seen, May 24, 2023, in Lansing, Michigan. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
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"Young people know what they need for their lives… There’s this narrative that parents have to be involved because teens aren’t mature enough. Doing all of this requires an extraordinary amount of maturity."
"I think for so long, the judicial bypass process has been propped up as this really reasonable alternative to forced parental consent," Kylee Sunderlin, a legal services director at a reproductive rights organization called If/When/How, said. The organization vows to make reproductive decisions free from discrimination, coercion, or violence, their website states.
Furthermore, Right to Life of Michigan Legislative Director Genevieve Marnon sent the Detroit Free Press an email saying that the parental consent law bestows power to the parents to ultimately make the best decision they deem is fit for their child.
Their report argues that "placing decisions around young people’s healthcare access in the hands of judges is inherently problematic and incompatible with the right to health and its underlying principle of autonomy."
"The organizations who published this advocacy piece and their political allies believe they know what is best for children, not parents. They are actively seeking to remove parents from one of the most important decisions a minor girl could face, one that everyone acknowledges will have a lifelong impact regardless of the decision," she wrote in an email.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared in Farmington Hills, Michigan on Friday to address women's access to IVF in light of Alabama's recent Supreme Court decision declaring that embryos are considered human. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Most recently, women's reproductive rights have been addressed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She appeared in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on Friday to address women's access to IVF in light of Alabama's recent Supreme Court decision declaring that embryos are considered human.
"Health care decisions and science should be left to individuals and medical professionals. Period," Whitmer said. "And not politicians."
Whitmer was joined by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, state lawmakers, and healthcare professionals.
Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.
Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program.
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