The State of New York wants to you be a better parent, and they’re legislating to make sure you know it. The state legislature is well-meaning, and also apparently has a bit too much time on its hands judging by several laws passed this early summer to make parenting teens a little bit easier.
The first law out of the legislature requires tattoo and body piercing parlors to obtain the written consent of parents before inking or piercing their children. The authors of the legislation explained:
Millions of teenagers get pierced each year and many experience adverse health effects from these piercings without their parents’ knowledge. The needles used can sometimes result in a severe viral infection and immense discomfort. It is important that parents understand these potential risks and that teens are proactive in retaining their parents’ or guardian’s consent to have such piercing done.
While many parlors already required written consent before working with a minor, this law, effective immediately, has now mandated it. Parental consent is not only suggested, but also now required before teenagers permanently mutilate themselves in New York State.
A second bill recently passed by the New York State legislature is also designed to protect your teenager from him or herself. It is now illegal for a youth 16 years of age or younger to enter a tanning booth, even with parental consent. The legislators who sponsored this bill wrote:
Advocates and professionals agree that excessive tanning, popularized by indoor tanning salons, has led to an increase in skin cancer and our youth are at the greatest risk. According to the American Cancer Society, the popularity of tanning salons has led to a 72 percent jump in incidences of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, from 1998 to 2008.
It appears that the New York State legislature believes that before a teen makes a life-altering and potentially dangerous decision regarding their bodies, they must first consult their parents or the state. Well, except in one area. New York teens are not required to request permission, or even inform, their parents of an abortion before or after obtaining it; at age 12 or 17, there is no distinction.
Due to its permissive abortion laws, New York is the abortion capital of America (one out of ten abortions nationwide occur in the state), and New York Magazine reported in 2005:
In absolute terms, there are more abortions performed on minors, more repeat abortions, and more late abortions (over 21 weeks) in New York City than anywhere else in the country. In parts of the city, the ratio of abortions to births is one to one.
Abortion is a medical procedure, and is certainly more invasive and carries more immediate risks than tattooing, piercing or artificial tanning. One would think the New York State legislature would see the mixed messages it sends parents, on the one hand mandating their approval in decisions regarding their children’s physical well-being, and on the other advocating for a child’s right to “privacy” above all else. This liberal double standard regarding abortion, however, will continue to go unnoticed by an equally liberal press and electorate.
My brother and I got tattooed together with our bandmates when we were on tour with our band/recording an album in Nashville (we were in our early/mid 20s) a couple of months later, while I was trying on a shirt my mother got me for Christmas, my brother blurted out "Dude…You might as well show her…" My mom, who hadn't seen it (she only sees what she wants to see), realized what he meant and said "Oh, No..Jamie, did you get a tattoo?" Then she started crying. She cried for about 5 minutes, while my brother just sat there letting me take all the heat/disappointment. Then she asked "When did you g-g-get it?" I was finally able to rat him out too "We all got them…" nThen, last year, I was speculating aloud about adding to it (i've been thinking about doing this for years), she said again "No! Don't do it! You can't be buried in a Jewish cemetry if you have a tattoo!". The thing is: I'm not Jewish (neither is she). I'm Catholic, just as my ancestors have been for about the past 1500 years…
Somewhere in Proverbs we read "Better to meet a she bear with her whelps than a fool in his folly." n nIt's odious to behold, but among distaff journalists the maternal instinct has been deformed into defending a mother's right to a dead baby, a defense that is as ferocious and uncompromising as the urge that once compelled a mother to defend her young from harm. Meanwhile, male journalists are too petrified to say boo to these harridans. As a result, Ms. Mandel, you will wait in vain for members of the media to be bothered by the inconsistency you point out.
If parental permission is required for an abortion for a minor, and the parents say no, should the teenager be required to carry and have the child? You are right that a baby carries more immediate risks, and the consequences of the decision are life-long as well. If a teen wants an abortion, and the parents say no, should the teen be denied the abortion? n nThere is also a problem with the comparison – tanning salons and tattoo and piercing parlors are for-profit businesses selling their products to make money, which gives them an incentive to market to minors. Abortion is a medical procedure performed by professional medical personnel. Regulating tanning, tattoos, and piercing is more related to regulating alcohol & tobacco than abortion. n nIf a teen wants a tattoo that badly, they can get it the day they turn 18. They will be able to get the piercing or tan their hearts out, too. However, if a 15 year old is pregnant and their parents refuse to let them get an abortion, they can't wait until they're 18 to get their way. Teenage pregnancy has immediate consequences whatever one's choice is. This immediacy paired with the permanence of the decision means that the teens' voice and choice should be respected, not their parents' views.
Um, you know that abortionists have a financial incentive to perform as many abortions as they can, don't you? If the girl isn't responsible enough to make a decision to get a tattoo, she certainly isn't responsible enough to make a decision whether or not to carry the baby to term. Period.
The "permanence" resulting from not aborting the fetus that you speak of is greatly exaggerated and borders on falsehood, at least as far as the new mother is concerned. The child can be placed for adoption immediately. In other words, her predicament can be mitigated within a year of pregnancy. Now, when it comes to the baby, the "permanence" of abortion is quite definite and incapable of mitigation.
Frankly, I'm in the minority among conservatives on abortion–I'm NOT again it. n nOne of the reasons is that most women and young girls who have them come from democ-rat Party voting demographic groups. n nIf the Democ-rat Party wants to kill its future, what should any decent American stand in its way?