Parental consent for abortion protects girls
It lets families support minors in making decision, says Mike Schouten.
Canada’s lack of abortion regulation affects both women and their unborn children. It has an even greater effect on young women.
It was therefore no surprise that when candidates for leader of the Saskatchewan Party were asked how they would respond to the introduction of a policy that would mandate parental involvement when a minor requests an abortion, they answered in the affirmative.
Candidate Gord Wyant, who describes himself as “pro-choice,” responded to RightNow’s question by saying, “I would be favourable to the introduction of a policy that mandates parental involvement when a minor requests an abortion, as long as it does not contravene our Constitution or federal law.”
No court has excluded a government from regulating abortion. In fact, in the most well-known case dealing with abortion, R. v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court left the door open for government to enact new laws that were both constitutional and protected the fetus at some point.
According to the Constitution Act (1867) there is a division of powers between the federal and provincial governments. Section 92 (16) of the act confers on provincial legislatures the power to make laws in relation to “all matters of merely local or private nature in the province.” Similarly, paragraph 7 of that same section of the act authorizes provinces to make laws in relation to “the establishment, maintenance, and management of hospitals, charities, etc.” This specifically authorizes the provinces to establish and regulate hospitals, and to regulate hospital-based health-care services.
In 2014, a public awareness campaign was launched with the goal of educating and equipping the people of Saskatchewan with the information necessary to build support for parental consent legislation. This has resulted in more than 30,000 of pieces of communication sent to the legislature in the form of postcards, petitions, phone calls, emails and visits. Based on the answers by the four candidates who responded to RightNow’s survey, it is clear this has had an impact.
It is the view of tens of thousands of people that parental consent for abortion is a necessary piece of legislation that will protect vulnerable girls. Unfortunately, many choice-focused individuals and organizations take a fundamentally flawed approach to the issue of parental consent for abortion.
They frame the problem as, “Choice and bodily autonomy at all costs, and anyone who opposes that opposes women’s rights.”
We believe that this “at all costs” approach harms the women it sets out to protect when it is applied to adolescents deciding on whether to continue a pregnancy.
Not only are adolescents likely to make their pregnancy-related decisions in a state of stress, emotion and exhaustion, they are also doing so with a less-developed prefrontal cortex than an adult, one of the key ways the brain doesn’t look like that of an adult until the early 20s. Adolescent brains show marked differences in areas of impulse control and planning for the future — both critical to making an informed decision on parenthood, and capacities that are similarly unavailable in the peers they may turn to for help and advice. Parental consent is about responsibility and care.
This legislation will not prevent women from requesting and receiving an abortion. It will not stop abortion from occurring. It will not make abortion illegal.
Rather, parental consent for abortion, drafted to withstand the test of constitutionality, will protect the health and welfare of minors, as well as foster family unity and protect the constitutional rights of parents to raise their children and be involved in the steps of that process.
The main goal is to provide support for pregnant adolescents, regardless of the outcome of their pregnancy. Whether they choose abortion, adoption or active motherhood, support is crucial to their success and well-being.
We hope that the new premier will recognize that a parental consent law makes it clear that the government supports young women as well as the lives they carry.