GA - Cindi Cook for signing 16yo girl's abortion papers, Chamblee, 2007

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I had a severe reaction to the morning after pill. I hope this girl is fine!
 
SeriouslySearching said:
I have never heard that about BC pills before. They used to have to up mine to five a day to stop my periods. I find it odd it can cause an abortion.

I look at being a teen confidant as guiding them to do the right thing. I would never withold that kind of information from a parent, but would go with them to discuss it. As a parent, I would be horrified if someone thought so little of my child and myself that they would take on that role to hide life changing, important events from me.
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I definitely understand and respect your position, SS. However, I believe it is up to the sexually active teen to decide who to share that information with. If the teen is not comfortable telling her parents, there's probably a reason for that. I could have told my parents (my Dad and stepmom) had I become pregnant as a teenager.

I also think it's important for teens to have other adults (aunts, godparents, other mentors, etc..) they can go to confidentially with personal information. I might encourage a pregnant teen to tell her parents, but I would never tell them myself if I had been approached in confidence about the subject.

Of course, I don't know that this is what happened in the case we are discussing. It sounds like the Court found that this woman had truly pressured this girl to do what she wanted her to do - that's not cool.
 
I will have to say I am one of those parents that tell the other parents what I know. I tell the kids if I find out, I'm telling. I have found out all you have to do is call and tell them you are coming to talk to them. Each time I have had to do this...the kids tell their parents before I get there. Which is what I want them to do. I would want to be told and have been. Sometimes kids don't want to tell their parents because they do not want to disappoint them. Not because of how they will react. I'm not sure it takes a village to raise a child but it sure helps if the village tells you what it knows. We live in a small community and pretty much everyone knows everybody's business. Sometimes thats good other times not so good.
 
The mother should have talked it over with the girl's family; then again we don't know what the repercussions for the girl may have been. If very bad, then i see nothing wrong with it. The last thing we need is more children in foster care or abandoned and left for dead.
 
The whole argument of "she couldn't tell her parents b/c they would beat her" or whatever is so much BS to me.

If this woman cared about this girl like she claims and the parents are that bad, then she needs to be getting someone else involved to help the situation, not just perpetuate the cycle of abuse by adding to this girl's demons. She may have "saved" this baby (GAG me!) but what of future children who have this girl as a mother?

Second, every teenaged girl thinks her parents will "kill her" when they find out she's pregnant (or wrecked the car, or run up a $2K texting bill, or flunked math). Very few parents, although angry, will actually have an unreasonable reaction. Forging medical records to avoid someone else's anger is a pretty extreme reaction in and of itself. I can see a teenager doing it, but an adult should know better.

And third, as I've said a million times, the girl may have had a medical issue that she didn't even know about. This woman took every responsibility (which wasn't hers to take) and risk with a young girl's life for the most selfish reasons. I hope she does every day of that year and thinks long and hard about her own priorities.
 
Is that a new law requiring parental consent? I went with a friend in high school, she was 16 and they didn't require parental consent. I'm not sure they even asked how old she was, we could also go to the health clinic and get birth control pills for free without parental consent. This was in MD.
 
southcitymom said:
I definitely understand and respect your position, SS. However, I believe it is up to the sexually active teen to decide who to share that information with. If the teen is not comfortable telling her parents, there's probably a reason for that. I could have told my parents (my Dad and stepmom) had I become pregnant as a teenager.

I also think it's important for teens to have other adults (aunts, godparents, other mentors, etc..) they can go to confidentially with personal information. I might encourage a pregnant teen to tell her parents, but I would never tell them myself if I had been approached in confidence about the subject.

Of course, I don't know that this is what happened in the case we are discussing. It sounds like the Court found that this woman had truly pressured this girl to do what she wanted her to do - that's not cool.
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My oldest daughter serves as my youngest dd's confidant. The rule has always been she will hold her "secrets" unless she deems it neccessary to tell me. This would fall under the categories of pregnancy, sex, or abuses. Also situations where she felt there was a danger attached either mental or physical so we could deal with it as a family.

When my oldest was growing up, I found myself as a confidant for most of her friends as they were practically living at my house. I had the same standard of rules for them. I would be glad to hold their innermost secrets to a point (their parents knew this upfront as we discussed it). I would go as far as providing them pamphlets from the local Physician's office, family planning service, or articles for information, but I would never overstep parental boundaries. They came to me because they knew I would help them by offering guidance, but they also knew I would not hide serious situations from their own parents. I addressed cases of abuse, pregnancy, drugs, and sex including birth control with a caring, but complete resolution for the girls. I stayed involved and worked with the families at their request. Together, we raised a fine group of adult females. It does take a village.

To facilitate an abortion or something so serious, imo, is teaching them it is ok not to face consequences of their actions and to send them on the wrong path to handle their future problems. Part of growing up is to face things head on and learn from their mistakes.
 
ATLANTA -- The parents of a 16-year-old girl forced to have an abortion by her boyfriend’s mother said that mother deserves more than a year in jail.

Cindi Cook received a 12-month sentence for saying she was the girl’s mother and signing a parental notification form allowing a clinic to perform the procedure. The DeKalb County Solicitor General continues to investigate the clinic’s role in the abortion to see if they followed state law.

The girl’s parents said they want to know why the crime Cook committed is only a misdemeanor and they said they’re going to work to change the law to a much stiffer punishment.

“It someone else does this they’re going to get punished for it. It’s not going to be a misdemeanor,” said the girl’s mother, who did not want to be identified.

The parents of the 16-year-old girl do not have kind words for Cook. “She’s an awful person,” said the girl’s mother.

“I just point-blank asked her, ‘How could you have done this,’” said the girl’s father.
more: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16589671/detail.html
 
White Rain said:
ATLANTA -- The parents of a 16-year-old girl forced to have an abortion by her boyfriend’s mother said that mother deserves more than a year in jail.

Cindi Cook received a 12-month sentence for saying she was the girl’s mother and signing a parental notification form allowing a clinic to perform the procedure. The DeKalb County Solicitor General continues to investigate the clinic’s role in the abortion to see if they followed state law.

The girl’s parents said they want to know why the crime Cook committed is only a misdemeanor and they said they’re going to work to change the law to a much stiffer punishment.

“It someone else does this they’re going to get punished for it. It’s not going to be a misdemeanor,” said the girl’s mother, who did not want to be identified.

The parents of the 16-year-old girl do not have kind words for Cook. “She’s an awful person,” said the girl’s mother.

“I just point-blank asked her, ‘How could you have done this,’” said the girl’s father.
more: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16589671/detail.html
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Twelve months versus 18 years of her son's life. I'm thinking Cindi Cook may truly be thinking she'd do the same thing all over again.
 
The boyfriend's mom should be sentenced.
Wonder how she'd like it if someone else signed for her son or daughter's surgery?
 
southcitymom said:
She was very close with the girl - it's not something she did willy nilly or without thought. If a teenaged girl confided sexual activity to me and did not want her parents to know, I would definitely honor that.

The morning after pill is not particularly dangerous - it's like taking 3 BC pills. (in fact, in college, before there was an official morning after pill - we sometimes used our BS pills for that very purpose). It will simply make you start your period. When I was a rape crisis counselor, we gave them to every rape victim regardless of age. It was SOP.
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SCM is right. It depends on the combination of hormones in the pill, but it's well known among the very devoted pro-life people, that taking birth control pills of a certain combination doesn't prevent conception, but only implanation of a fertilized egg.

That's what's we would be seeing here, not allowing the egg to implant but be ejected from the body, and it would just be like a usual menstrual cycle.

However, the girl in this case clearly didn't want an abortion, and the mother was so wrong to do this...
 
"Authorities said Cook found the Northside Women’s Clinic, which doesn’t require a parent to be present. The DeKalb Solicitor General said Cook signed a parental notification form pretending to be the girl’s mother."
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16589671/detail.html

So it was all Cook's idea for the son's girlfriend to get the abortion.
If it was a clinic that just required a signature, no parent present, the girl could have forged it.
This changes my opinion upon the matter; Cool probably just didn't want to end up paying child support if she thought or knew her son wouldn't do it.
 
After some research, I found out that a girl as young as 12 in Canada can have an abortion without parental consent. This procedure is also paid for by taxes. That is why I find it hard to understand why a "young adult" in the USA needs her parent permission and consent to "have an abortion".

I guess the two countries are very much different.

Heck the USA has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the western world. Would you like a hint as to why: Because Birth control is not taught in schools and is not made available to students, unlike other countries which have lower rates. Why do these countries have a lower rate of teen pregnancy: Because sex ed is taught in school and birth control is taught to be used to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STD. Also if a person goes to an clinic to have an abortion, they are asked what type of birth control will "now be used" and they are given the resources for birth control. They do not leave the clinic without knowledge of how to prevent unwanted pregnancy.

The ostrich approach just does not seem to work. This girl could easily walked away, told her parents, school etc. No one "forced" her to become pregnant and no one "held" her by the arms kicking and screaming, with restraints to have the abortion.

Over the next 12 months there will be 1 million teen pregnancies. 95% of those pregnancies are "unintentional" and unwanted. Almost half of teenage mothers end up on welfare.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The United States of America has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Educating teenagers about contraception makes them more likely to use contraception when they begin having sex, but it doesn't lower the age at first intercourse.

Now what could have happened, as is often the case. They find a newborn body in a dumpster. Or in a field. Or the parent "killed" the baby at birth. To me that is worse because the child was born alive, but in essence it is "constructive" abortion because the "baby" is born and then killed. Oh I forgot, murder the mother and "fetus" and the "responsibility of the "Father" ends.

I have a novel idea. Teach sex ed, teach a teenager how to prevent pregnancy, give them resources for birth control. I put money that the "problem" of unwanted teen age pregnancy will be curtailed.

Deal with the problem before it is a problem, not after.
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CyberLaw said:
After some research, I found out that a girl as young as 12 in Canada can have an abortion without parental consent. This procedure is also paid for by taxes. That is why I find it hard to understand why a "young adult" in the USA needs her parent permission and consent to "have an abortion".

I guess the two countries are very much different.
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Wow! That's very interesting. I guess I always thought parental consent was required for any surgery on a minor. I also do not think parental consent should be required of a 16-year-old seeking an abortion, but our laws obviously disagree with me.
 
In Canada a 16 year old is old enough to leave home to live on their own. Not thing one a parent can do about it.

I feel that at 16, a teenager should have the choice to have a baby or not.

It is their body and their life and future.

You think that parents always act in the best interest of their child, not always. But the child will act in their best interest. How many girls were "forced" to become parents because Mommy and Daddy decided that is "how the child" should be "punished" for having sex. Now the child can work at Wal-Mart and be a single mom. The girl made her bed and now she has to "sleep" in it. Since life is uncertain, people need choices. Too bad the choices "made for the child" are not always in the best interest of the child to decide what to do with her body.

Something about this story just does not add up.
 
CyberLaw said:
After some research, I found out that a girl as young as 12 in Canada can have an abortion without parental consent. This procedure is also paid for by taxes. That is why I find it hard to understand why a "young adult" in the USA needs her parent permission and consent to "have an abortion".

I guess the two countries are very much different.

Heck the USA has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the western world. Would you like a hint as to why: Because Birth control is not taught in schools and is not made available to students, unlike other countries which have lower rates. Why do these countries have a lower rate of teen pregnancy: Because sex ed is taught in school and birth control is taught to be used to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STD. Also if a person goes to an clinic to have an abortion, they are asked what type of birth control will "now be used" and they are given the resources for birth control. They do not leave the clinic without knowledge of how to prevent unwanted pregnancy.

The ostrich approach just does not seem to work. This girl could easily walked away, told her parents, school etc. No one "forced" her to become pregnant and no one "held" her by the arms kicking and screaming, with restraints to have the abortion.

Over the next 12 months there will be 1 million teen pregnancies. 95% of those pregnancies are "unintentional" and unwanted. Almost half of teenage mothers end up on welfare.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The United States of America has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Educating teenagers about contraception makes them more likely to use contraception when they begin having sex, but it doesn't lower the age at first intercourse.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Now what could have happened, as is often the case. They find a newborn body in a dumpster. Or in a field. Or the parent "killed" the baby at birth. To me that is worse because the child was born alive, but in essence it is "constructive" abortion because the "baby" is born and then killed. Oh I forgot, murder the mother and "fetus" and the "responsibility of the "Father" ends.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I have a novel idea. Teach sex ed, teach a teenager how to prevent pregnancy, give them resources for birth control. I put money that the "problem" of unwanted teen age pregnancy will be curtailed. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Deal with the problem before it is a problem, not after.[/FONT]
Click to expand...

I feel that this post offers some great perspective, but it is a shame that many people probably won't read it since you begin with your typical criticisms about why the United States is inferior to Canada. IMO, that unnecessary drivel completely devalues your post.
 
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