How disappointing to see the Illinois Medical Society marshal its formidable lobbying power to kill the parental notification bill, which would have required minors to notify one parent 48 hours prior to having an abortion.
Can it be that this society clings to the outmoded idea that doctors may play God, and now believes that doctors should also play parent?
Since when do doctors believe that parents should not be involved in the medical decisions of their minor children?
If doctors require informed-consent papers to be signed before all other invasive procedures, why should abortion, a sometimes lethal procedure, be excluded?
One doesn’t have to be pro-life to be pro-parental notification. The bill would not prevent a 12-year-old from getting an abortion. Further, it would allow a judge to waive parental notification in cases where it might be dangerous to the young woman.
Could it be that the society is more concerned about the $5,000 fine for doctors who fail to obtain parental notification than about the best interests of its very vulnerable young female patients? And dare I mention the possibility that it has an eye toward protecting, and enlarging, its lucrative abortion industry?
