School Abortion
FOX NEWS Fair and Balanced
March 24, 2010 - 4:46 PM
by: Dan Springer
The mother of a 15-year old Seattle girl is furious because her daughter had an abortion with some assistance from the nurses at her school and she was never informed. She only found out after the fact when her daughter had an unrelated health problem and finally revealed she had terminated a pregnancy.
The girl attends Ballard High School in Seattle which has a teen health clinic inside. The clinic is run by Swedish Medical Center and administered by the King County Health Department.
According to the girl's mother, who did not want to give her name, her daughter was given a pregnancy test at the school clinic which was positive. She was then told by the nurse that she could have an abortion at a nearby clinic without her parents' knowledge.
The girl then called a taxi, which picked her up at the school and drove her by herself to the abortion clinic.
The mother acknowledges she signed a consent form at the beginning of the school year giving the school permission to administer health care off campus. She assumed that meant in cases of emergency. Nowhere on the form is abortion mentioned.
A King County Health official would not speak about any of the details surrounding the case, but did say that no laws were broken. In Washington State a girl of any age can get an abortion without her parent's being notified. It's one of 15 states without either parental consent or parental notification laws.
The county health official also says that schools have sent kids in taxis in the past when they're taken off campus for medical procedures. James Apa, a Health Department spokesman says it's one of several modes of transportation used.
FOX NEWS Fair and Balanced
March 24, 2010 - 4:46 PM
by: Dan Springer
The mother of a 15-year old Seattle girl is furious because her daughter had an abortion with some assistance from the nurses at her school and she was never informed. She only found out after the fact when her daughter had an unrelated health problem and finally revealed she had terminated a pregnancy.
The girl attends Ballard High School in Seattle which has a teen health clinic inside. The clinic is run by Swedish Medical Center and administered by the King County Health Department.
According to the girl's mother, who did not want to give her name, her daughter was given a pregnancy test at the school clinic which was positive. She was then told by the nurse that she could have an abortion at a nearby clinic without her parents' knowledge.
The girl then called a taxi, which picked her up at the school and drove her by herself to the abortion clinic.
The mother acknowledges she signed a consent form at the beginning of the school year giving the school permission to administer health care off campus. She assumed that meant in cases of emergency. Nowhere on the form is abortion mentioned.
A King County Health official would not speak about any of the details surrounding the case, but did say that no laws were broken. In Washington State a girl of any age can get an abortion without her parent's being notified. It's one of 15 states without either parental consent or parental notification laws.
The county health official also says that schools have sent kids in taxis in the past when they're taken off campus for medical procedures. James Apa, a Health Department spokesman says it's one of several modes of transportation used.
