# Okay, so what is the argument FOR parental consent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 14, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517 "2005-12-14T00:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/81 "2005-12-15T07:42:31Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > Tell that to Barry Gurnow. One person, so obscure I can’t even find info from google, compared to an international movement with a known propensity towards violence and tyranny. Why was he shot; was it by a parent ? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/82 "2005-12-15T12:56:56Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > It is not about controlling girls’ behavior - it is about denying parental consent for a medical procedure for their child. Originally posted by **SaintCad** : (bolding mine) > [@](#): > > If a parent knew their daughter was pregnant, wouldn’t that help them to realize that \*\*they need to control her behavior better \*\* so that she does not start using abortion as birth control? Originally posted by **SaintCad** : > [@](#): > > 1. Advise of the doctor but not the parents? Are the parents qualifed to give \*medical \* advice? Because that’s what I’m referring to. Originally posted by **SaintCad** : > [@](#): > > 1. How do you get more forced abortions out of this argument? Parents would only be notified if the daughter were planning on already getting an abortion. We’re discussing parental _consent_, not _notification_, at least according to the thread title. And I believe that your argument has been that the parents have the right to handle the situation however they see fit. It logically follows that if they have the right to prevent the abortion, then they also have the right to insist on it. And who are we to question them? They’re her parents. Right? Originally posted by **SaintCad** : > [@](#): > > 1. I’m stupified by this whole idea like the girl got pregnant from a toilet seat. We have sex education at our school along with free condoms from 4 different sources on campus. Despite this, I actually buget money to buy flowers for my female students who have babies (3 last year, more this year). I admit that it is pretty fucked up (no pun intended) to be 16 and have to decide between an abortion and a baby, but that is the result is a conscious decision the girl made to have sex and there maybe consequences for those decisions (viz. pregnancy). > > I still refuse to believe that the desire of society to protect a girl from the consequences of her actions should outweigh my rights as her parent. Who said they were getting pregnant from toilet seats? Who argued that they’re innocent victims of fate? And why do we always arrive back at the idea that by having sex, you forfeit your right to live the way you choose? If you choose to speed, and you get into an accident, should the hospital refrain from livesaving measures, since it was your own choice to drive too fast, and you’ll just have to face the consequences of that? ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/83 "2005-12-15T13:30:46Z")
> [@](#): > > **Shodan** said: > Well, I hope you don’t take this personally, but this does not sound very much like your father would be abusive. Simply refusing you permission to abort is not abuse. And I don’t see any reason why laws should be set up such that girls can always get abortions if they want to. It’s not his health and his future that are at stake. The point, **Shodan** , is that I would’ve done whatever it took to get an abortion, even if it was illegal. You would prefer I do it illegally than by going to my doctor and having it done? > [@](#): > > For minors, decisions about medical procedures like abortion are not solely theirs to make. And it is entirely possible for a parent to decide that an abortion is not in the best interests of his daughter - and not be wrong. As long as it is in disagreement with what the daughter wants, then it is wrong. > [@](#): > > Maybe you really, really think an abortion is the only option. And if you are denied what you want, your life will be ruined forever. And it might even be true - or possibly not. But I have heard the same sort of argument in favor of all sorts of things that teenagers are quite sure are unassailably true, but which a more mature or experienced person might not necessarily agree. For me, it would be. It’s been ten years since I’d have been affected by a parental consent law, and abortion is still the only option that I would choose. I firmly believe that the only person who should decide if a person becomes a parent or not is **that person**. > [@](#): > > And that stuff about “I’ll do anything, legal or not” sounds like the sort of self-dramatization that a fairly immature teen-ager would say. As I said, I am not even close to being a teenager anymore. I can still tell you that if abortion were made illegal today and I found out I was pregnant tomorrow, I would abort. No matter what, no doubt in my mind. I do not want children. Determination is not ‘self-dramatization’. > [@](#): > > I guess what you need to understand is this - it is not impossible that an abortion really is the wrong decision. Maybe you really, really think it is. But there’s a quote - For me? Abortion would most definitely not ever be the wrong decision, **Shodan**. > [@](#): > > No matter how strongly you feel on the subject, you don’t have the right to overrule someone whose beliefs are different. That includes parents overruling their daughters whose beliefs are different. My father may be anti-choice, but **I am not and never was.** You do know that medically abortion poses less risk to life and health than carrying to term, don’t you? > [@](#): > > **Der Trihs** said: > Doesn’t that argue against parents having a say ? The only way it doesn’t is if you don’t consider a minor under the age of 18 a person. > [@](#): > > **DianaG** said: > It sounds like something I would say if I were being forced to endure an unwanted pregnancy, and I’m an adult. I still say it, and I’m rapidly closing in on 28. > [@](#): > > If it’s not the pregnant woman’s decision, than it’s the wrong decision. Do you really believe that there’s anything particularly moral or ethical or right about a parent legally forcing a girl to carry and bear a child she doesn’t want? IIRC, **Shodan** is anti-choice, so I think he’d agree with whatever scenario resulted in there being no abortion. > [@](#): > > **SaintCad** said: > So what you are saying is that a girl who has sex knowing full well she could get pregnant is somehow victimized when there are consequences for that choice? Interesting and completely in line with the “I should not be accountable for my actions” mentality in the US today. Choosing to abort **is a consequence**. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/84 "2005-12-15T13:37:00Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > The one who is pregnant is. Whether she’s 13 or 30, the fact of the matter is that it will affect her in a way that it will not affect anyone else involved in the situation. All the more reason for her parents to be involved. When you’re too close to a situation, it’s easy to make a rash or otherwise unwise decision–especially if you’re a minor. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/85 "2005-12-15T14:16:23Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > I still refuse to believe that the desire of society to protect a girl from the consequences of her actions should outweigh my rights as her parent. And here is the issue: From my point of view, your rights as a parent do not include the right to overrule your daughter’s decision either to have an abortion or carry a child to term. If she believes you might overrule her, I believe she has a right not to tell you about it. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/86 "2005-12-15T14:18:55Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > It’s not his health and his future that are at stake. The point, **Shodan** , is that I would’ve done whatever it took to get an abortion, even if it was illegal. You would prefer I do it illegally than by going to my doctor and having it done? Your hypothetical pregnant teen-age self might benefit from being made aware of options that don’t ruin your future. Ever hear of adoption? > [@](#): > > As long as it is in disagreement with what the daughter wants, then it is wrong. In every instance, or only in the case of abortion? Or are you arguing that there should be no such thing as an age of consent? > [@](#): > > The only way it doesn’t is if you don’t consider a minor under the age of 18 a person. A fully adult person, no, obviously not. That’s the definition of a minor. Again, would you like to apply this to every decision made by every child, or only in the special case of abortion? > [@](#): > > IIRC, **Shodan** is anti-choice, so I think he’d agree with whatever scenario resulted in there being no abortion. Wrong on both counts. I’ll thank you not to assign opinions to me that I don’t hold. > [@Voyager](#): > > And why pray tell do you think “pro-abortion” types (which is a lie in many or most cases) what to increase abortions? Same reasons that you think that “anti-choice” types (which is a lie in many or most cases) want to decrease them. Apparently all it takes is a perjorative name and an accusation. > [@Der Trihs](#): > > > [@Shodan](#): > > > > This is the second time this claim has been made, and no supporting cite has been provided. What is the evidence that telling your parents you want an abortion is more likely to trigger abuse than telling them some bad news of equivalent import? > > Abortion clinic bombings, assassinations of doctors - the anti-abortion movement has plenty of thuggish types. Not even close to establishing your claim. Once again, please provide some kind of reasonable evidence that demonstrates that parents are more likely to be abusive when their daughters ask for abortions than when they receive other bad news of equal import. This is GD. Put up or shut up. > [@](#): > > > [@Shodan](#): > > > > Simply refusing you permission to abort is not abuse. > > Yes it is; at least as bad as child molesting. And this is just plain goddam stupid. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/87 "2005-12-15T16:16:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Well, that depends on your point of view. > > Wouldn’t the chance that the number of abortions might decrease mean that the pro-abortion types would be eager to prevent parental notification/consent laws? It’s not the same. Pro-lifers, as a conscious policy goal, want to decrease the number of abortions performed in America each year, ideally to zero. Pro-choicers do **not** want to **increase** the number of abortions performed; they just want pregnant women to have a free choice and an available clinic. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/88 "2005-12-15T16:26:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It’s not the same. Pro-lifers, as a conscious policy goal, want to decrease the number of abortions performed in America each year, ideally to zero. Pro-choicers do **not** want to **increase** the number of abortions performed; they just want pregnant women to have a free choice and an available clinic. Now that I completely agree with. More Birth Control and less abortions is a great goal. Jim ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/89 "2005-12-15T16:36:15Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Now that I completely agree with. More Birth Control and less abortions is a great goal. > > Jim Yes it is. One that your average pro-choice person would agree with, I imagine, most anti-choicers as well. However, a significant number of anti-choicers also object to birth control, which does not strike me as a position in agreement with wishing to reduce the number of abortions. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/90 "2005-12-15T16:59:52Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Not even close to establishing your claim. Once again, please provide some kind of reasonable evidence that demonstrates that parents are more likely to be abusive when their daughters ask for abortions than when they receive other bad news of equal import. Abortion clinic bombings and assassinations _are_ evidence of how violent the anti-abortion movement is; what do you think a “pro-life” murder/bomber would do to a daughter who wanted an abortion ? Besides, by his desire to force her to have a baby against her will, an anti-abortion parent has already demonstrated his complete contempt for her. > [@Shodan](#): > > And this is just plain goddam stupid. Really ? In both the cases of molestation and forced pregnancy/childbirth, the parent is violating the childs body for his/her own reasons; personally, I think forcing the girl to have a child is worse. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/91 "2005-12-15T17:35:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Same reasons that you think that “anti-choice” types (which is a lie in many or most cases) want to decrease them. Apparently all it takes is a perjorative name and an accusation. Give me a fucking break. You really think pro-lifers don’t want to decrease the number of abortions? The impact of notification on the abortion rate did come up in the debate in California. Plus, show me pro-choicers who say abortion is a virtue? (Out side of Communist China, that is.) I give you, for example, John Kerry, who said he was personally against abortion but for a woman’s right to choose. Women today have the right to choose abortion, adoption, or keeping a baby. If abortion were made illegal again, they would lose one of these choices, thus anti-choice is not a perjorative name. Time to face reality. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/92 "2005-12-15T17:48:11Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > All the more reason for her parents to be involved. When you’re too close to a situation, it’s easy to make a rash or otherwise unwise decision–especially if you’re a minor. This is simply an argument against letting the parents decide, either. They are too close _and_ don’t have the same compelling interest as the child. You really want to argue for a third party making all the decisions? And, just out of curiosity, is deciding to have the baby ever a “rash or otherwise unwise decision,” or is it only abortion that qualifies? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/93 "2005-12-15T17:48:39Z")
This is crazy. As a society, we do not legally consider minors to be informed enough to have willingly conceived a child. Every case of a pregnant minor is by definition statutory rape. So how can we possibly consider them informed enough to go ahead with an abortion…or a pregnancy for that matter? However, to get an abortion, an action must be taken. To carry the child to term requires only inaction, so where can one install a “gatekeeper” for notification or consent? I have yet to hear anyone argue that a minor is mature enough to give informed consent, only that there is fear that the minor might be abused if forced to notify her parents. Terrible though the fear of abuse might be, how can we justify allowing advantage to be taken of the immature? Unless there is some reasonable indication of an abusive household, the parents should not be out of the loop. A minor by definition requires an external, mature voice in order to reach a sound decision. And if the parents are not the default voice, who is? ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/94 "2005-12-15T18:02:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Well, I hope you don’t take this personally, but this does not sound very much like your father would be abusive. Simply refusing you permission to abort is not abuse. And I don’t see any reason why laws should be set up such that girls can always get abortions if they want to. I don’t know if she takes it personally but I sure do. How dare you second-guess her (hypothetical) decision. How dare you imply that she was wrong to fear her father’s reaction. Who’s in charge of her life: her, or you and her father? How poorly you must think of women to suggest that we can’t properly recognize threats to our own (emotional or physical) health and safety. This upsets me greatly because it encapsulates the whole abortion debate. What it comes down to is either that you agree that a woman has primary sovereignty over her own body, or you don’t. Either she is the best person to make this decision, or she is not. In this case you clearly believe the woman in question is not - and based on nothing more than message board posts! How dare you. And then you go on to say > [@](#): > > No matter how strongly you feel on the subject, you don’t have the right to overrule someone whose beliefs are different. Except if it’s a teenage girl whose beliefs are different from her parents. Or if it’s a woman whose perception about own her father differs from **Shodan** ’s. > [@SaintCad](#): > > I personally know at least three women who have had multiple abortions that were on no other birth control. So yes, some women use abortions as birth control. Who exactly would be better off if these women were prevented from having abortions, ie obliged to have babies they don’t want? Someone who can’t manage to avoid unwanted pregnancy is the last person I would nominate as an ideal mother! **DianaG** : welcome to the 'Dope! Hope you stick around. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/95 "2005-12-15T18:12:56Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > This is crazy. As a society, we do not legally consider minors to be informed enough to have willingly conceived a child. Every case of a pregnant minor is by definition statutory rape. Ummm . . . no, it isn’t. Not unless the minor is under a specified age and the inseminator is over a specified age (each of which varies from state to state). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/96 "2005-12-15T18:14:18Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > I personally know at least three women who have had multiple abortions that were on no other birth control. So yes, some women use abortions as birth control. So what? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/97 "2005-12-15T18:22:57Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > This is crazy. As a society, we do not legally consider minors to be informed enough to have willingly conceived a child. Every case of a pregnant minor is by definition statutory rape. Not true. > [@](#): > > So how can we possibly consider them informed enough to go ahead with an abortion…or a pregnancy for that matter? However, to get an abortion, an action must be taken. To carry the child to term requires only inaction, so where can one install a “gatekeeper” for notification or consent? Continuing the pregnancy through inaction is also a choice. > [@](#): > > I have yet to hear anyone argue that a minor is mature enough to give informed consent, only that there is fear that the minor might be abused if forced to notify her parents. Terrible though the fear of abuse might be, how can we justify allowing advantage to be taken of the immature? Unless there is some reasonable indication of an abusive household, the parents should not be out of the loop. A minor by definition requires an external, mature voice in order to reach a sound decision. And if the parents are not the default voice, who is? I think the minor has to give as informed a consent to whichever option because she’s the only person who can. Otherwise, you are justifying forced medical procedures and I ain’t going for that. And I know for a fact that many of those who squawk about parental rights wouldn’t defend a parent’s right to force the girl to have an abortion. Oh no, the rights only count when it’s “pro-life.” They talk about “helping the girl” make a decision, except there’s only one decision they will accept. Hmm. Maybe this isn’t about helping at all. Freeing the girl from parental consent protects her from parents like that, and from parents like me. (I’m not a parent, but if I were.) Because it would be my impulse to encourage an abortion. I’d want to encourage it strongly, perhaps heavy-handedly. And you know what? That’s okay, if my daughter trusts me enough to ask for my opinion. If she doesn’t, there is something wrong with our relationship, something no law is going to help. I’d guess that most girls already know where their parents stand on abortion. People act like it’s a secret, that a girl needs that input. She knows already. If it’s just a matter of her getting that information, she already has it unless her parents are hypocrites. Imagine you want to paint your house yellow. Your mother is offended that you didn’t ask her opinion. You didn’t ask her opinion because you knew she would say you should paint it blue. She always says you should paint it blue. She suggests to everyone they should paint it blue. How is asking for her opinion increasing the information you’ve got? It isn’t. If some girl’s parents spend their weekdays picketing the local Planned Parenthood, just what new information will she get by asking them their opinion of abortion? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/98 "2005-12-15T18:24:38Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I have yet to hear anyone argue that a minor is mature enough to give informed consent, only that there is fear that the minor might be abused if forced to notify her parents. Then how can she consent to having a baby? There _is no option_ that does not involve her making a major decision, or being coerced. None. > [@cmkeller](#): > > Terrible though the fear of abuse might be, how can we justify allowing advantage to be taken of the immature? Therefore, parents should not be allowed a say in the matter. > [@cmkeller](#): > > Unless there is some reasonable indication of an abusive household, the parents should not be out of the loop. A minor by definition requires an external, mature voice in order to reach a sound decision. And if the parents are not the default voice, who is? And who should decide if the parents are likely to be abusive about this ? Who knows them better ? The child. Besides, we’re talking about a relatively old child here, not a three year old; they don’t have the judgement of an adult, but they aren’t the giggling morons some people seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/99 "2005-12-15T19:07:48Z")
Is there any middle ground to be found? I really don’t like the idea of parents being completely unaware of their children undergoing major surgery, whatever political implications may exist. Perhaps we can have manadatory notification, but the final decision still rests with the child? Or, the minor can be granted an emancipation if their decision differs from the parents? I just don’t like the idea that children can keep secrets like this to preserve the status quo -it’s not fair to the majority of parents. So, if there is abuse, the authorities should step in to end/prevent it, and, if the child refuses to comply with parental demands, there is a legal out for both sides? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517/100 "2005-12-15T19:33:42Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > I just don’t like the idea that children can keep secrets like this to preserve the status quo -it’s not fair to the majority of parents. I don’t think it impacts the majority of parents. When people (not you) feel like it will impact them specifically, part of me wonders if maybe they should be working to build a relationship of trust and flexibility with their children. Let me ask you this: Do you think a minor who seeks suicide counseling should be able to without parental consent/notification? I do because desperate kids do desperate things, and I want them to have people to turn to when they think they can’t turn to their parents. What do you think? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517.md?page=6)