Children's rights victory!

[asterroc]

Maybe others won't see it the same way, but I feel that a Kansas ruling that abortion clinic workers do NOT have to report consentual sex between minors is a great victory for the rights of the underaged. Children under age 12 I think would still be reported, and relations between those over and above the age of consent (16 in Kansas).

It's a tough issue though. I was a precocious child, and I've always felt that children did not have enough rights and autonomy under the law. But I'm also a teacher, and children are precious and fragile and it is my DUTY to protect them in any fashion I can, whether stepping in front of a bus, or discouraging underage sex. Of course, educating about safer sex is also an important way to protect children (and adults), but I haven't been in a situation where I would do so.

ETA: In this week's Savage Love, Dan Savage interviewed an FBI representative who said that if two under-age people filmed each other having sex, it counted as child pornography and was illegal. *sigh* Can't we have some consistency here, folks? (Okay okay, I'm sure the column was written before the CNN/AP article, and besides one is state and the other is Federal, and they're slightly different issues, but you get my point!)

Comments

[sammka.livejournal.com]

woot!

Although I still actually think that abortion clinic workers shouldn't be legally required to report rape or incest or domestic violence.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, teachers, doctors, school workers, health workers, and police-types are all mandatory reporters and by law if they don't report potential abuse to minors they are responsible for aiding the abuse. I don't know if anyone is legally bound to report abuse of adults though. I feel abortion clinics are nothing different from any other medical clinic, doctor's office, dentist, whatever, so they should be treated the same when it comes to abuse reporting.

[sammka.livejournal.com]

I don't believe anyone should be legally mandated to report abuse, actually, ESPECIALLY people who provide necessary services like abortions and medical care.

Why? Because abusers will know this and try to restrict their children's access to medical care.

Also, it's really, REALLY not unheard of for stepfathers to rape girls, only for their mothers to punish and blame the girls for 'seducing' the mother's 'man'. I respect teenagers' desire to avoid that kind of situation.

[xoder.livejournal.com]

abortion clinic workers do NOT have to report consentual sex between minors... because they likely won't have their job in a few months if things in KS go like things in SD went.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Reading an article related to that right now, actually.