San Diego Schools No Longer Require Parental Consent for Teen Abortions
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 31, 2010
San Diego, CA (LifeNews.com) — San Diego school officials have upset pro-life advocates by adopting a new policy making it so teenagers no longer need parental consent for a host of activities, including abortion. The new policy makes it so teens can go on their own for confidential medical appointments without parental involvement.
The San Diego Unified Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to revise the policy without any opposition or debate.
Both pro-life and pro-abortion advocates spoke out about the changes in interviews with 10 News.
Leslie Brunolli said she opposed the change because she had an abortion she now adamantly regrets and doesn’t want young women to make the same mistake.
"I wanted to finish college. I wanted out of the situation and I had no idea that I would have any ramifications at all, but I did," she said of the abortion that took away 20 years of her life with regret and heartache until she sought help.
"To be able to have them taken out of school to have a medical procedure, I can’t believe it," she said. "It makes me angry."
But Vince Hall of Planned Parenthood told the television station he supports the change.
"Every day that the old policy was in effect, every day that the old policy guided people who work in the schools was a day that teens were really being put in danger," he claimed.
Marge Kleinsmith, who oversees sex education for the school district, said the change was needed to conform with state law.
"Some school nurses and staff have been allowing students to be released for these kinds of appointments — could be for suicide counseling, could be for an STD test, could be for pregnancy, could be for a lot of things – – because they knew state law said they could," Kleinsmith said. "Others have been strict about not letting students do this. This gives us much-needed clarity."
Although San Diego is changing its policy, the Tribune newspaper said Vista Unified school board voted in 2009 to stand by its practice of requiring parental involvement beforehand.
ACTION: Contact the board at https://old.sandi.net/board/boe_members.htm
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
